The End of an Era
by Zoe Rose
Summary: The girls have enough problems to deal with: a bitter family feud, graduation, depression, relationships... The last thing they need is a water supply contaminated with antidote X... Chapter 19: "Project X" up!
1. The Fight

A/N  Powerpuff Girls do not belong to me unfortunately.  If they did, Buttercup would get a lot more episodes and wouldn't always get the short end of the stick.  

This is my first fic posted.  I hope you like.  Please R&R.  And I think you should know, that when I imagine the girls grown up, I imagine them looking normal, ie they have noses, fingers, toes and ears.  Don't know why I shared that.  

**PART ONE: Family Feud**

**Chapter One: The Fight**

The city of Townsville was busy. It was after all rush hour.  Everyone was on their way home, except for Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup.  Bubbles was busy with cheerleading practice, Blossom and her boyfriend of four years, Greg Morris were studying together in the library, and as usual Buttercup was stuck in detention..  She idly looked out the window, preferring to be anywhere but where she was sitting.  She loathed the idea of being stuck in a room with a bunch of enemies.

Next to her, filing her nails wearing designer clothes with her frizzy red hair in a ponytail that looked like a pom-pom on top of her head was Princess.  She looked equally bored.  Behind her was Deuce and Cobra, part of the newer generation of the Gangrene Gang.  Deuce was Ace's cousin.  They were making faces at Mr. Miller the supervisor and writing notes to each other.  Buttercup rolled her eyes and looked out the window, hoping that a miracle would happen and some random monster would wreck havoc on the relatively peaceful city.  At least that would get her excused from detention.

Of course that wasn't meant to be.  Or was it?  

Buttercup practically leaped out of her seat with glee as she felt her pager go off.  Mayor Bellum (who got elected when the former Mayor, Mayor retired) had updated long ago to pagers as opposed to a hotline and only called the girls when there was an emergency that the police couldn't handle because of the workload high school brought the Powerpuff Girls.  So needless to say Buttercup wasn't surprised when she saw the message: "Monster attack on outskirts of Townsville near Industrial park".

Buttercup put her hand in the air, waving her pager, "Mr. Miller, I gotta go.  Emergency.  Gotta save the day you know."

Mr. Miller sighed not wanting to excuse her at all.  He nodded, knowing the situation, "Very well, so long as you make up the time tomorrow."

"Of course," Buttercup smiled sweetly, _NOT!  _She flew out the door, blowing a raspberry at all the other prisoners of school.

"She thinks she's so cool because she's a superhero," Princess huffed as Buttercup was leaving. 

Buttercup thought about that statement as she joined her sisters in the air.  That wasn't a fair statement.  Her status as superhero was all she had going for her, in her opinion anyway.  She wasn't a multi-talented honor student like her sisters were.  Having superpowers and saving the day were what she lived for; it was what brought her the most joy.  She didn't think she was cool because of it.  Buttercup shrugged, Princess was just jealous.  What else was new?

The monster was not hard to miss.  It looked like a cross between a giant squid and a monkey, but it had three horns like a triceratops and teeth that were sharp as knives, the size of their heads.  Of course, that was all just routine for the Powerpuff Girls.  They had after all been fighting crime since they were born.  Now almost done high school, they were pros at fighting crime.  Everything had become so routine, that it was almost boring, especially to Bubbles and Blossom and even Buttercup to a lesser sense.  They had after all become so good, that there was no element of danger, or suspense anymore.  But crimefighting constantly interrupted the busy lives of popular Bubbles, and over-achiever Blossom, at least Buttercup tried to make it fun.

"Blossom, can we do something that's not very time consuming?" Bubbles yawned, obviously bored.

"Why don't we have some fun?" Buttercup suggested hopefully.  A quick attack meant she'd have to go back to detention… not that she would. 

"No," Blossom replied haughtily, "Let's just finish and get it over with. Bubbles and I want to get back, right? Bubbles has cheerleading, Greg and I are busy studying and…"

Bubbles giggled, "Right.  Studying. What are you be studying today, French, or Physical Education?" by the tone of her voice she was obviously insinuating something completely different.   Greg and Blossom were  very close.

 "Haha, funny," Blossom said, deadpan.  But then she too burst into giggles.  Buttercup only rolled her eyes.  Blossom regained herself and sighed, back to the same ol' routine.  "I guess we'll use Attack Formation G-17."

"But that one's so boring!  G-17 is way too direct and to the point.  We'll be done in two seconds with that one!  Why can't we have a little fun?" Buttercup protested looking at the monster.  

"Buttercup, weren't you listening?" Blossom demanded, "Bubbles and I want to get back."

"So, just go.  We all know I can handle this one myself.  If you two really don't feel like saving the day, then go!  Carry on with your ever so important lives."

"And you missy still have detention," Blossom reminded her, sounding like a nagging mother.

"So, that's none of your business," Buttercup frowned.

Blossom sighed choosing not to argue…yet, "Let's get this over with, you guys know the routine, Bubbles, you go right this time, Buttercup, go left, I'll go down the middle."

"Whatever you say madam dictator," Buttercup shrugged causing Blossom to hiss with annoyance.  Buttercup flew to the left and the three attacked the monster.  From the way they fought together, one wouldn't know that for almost a year the super sisters were constantly fighting with each other, especially Blossom and Buttercup, but Bubbles had her fair share of fights too.  The three sisters had all seemed to change for the worse; their egos seemed to have magnified their faults.  Their swift motions were strong and smooth and before the monster knew what hit it, it was on the ground, apparently unconscious.  "Hmph, well that was no fun, now was it?" she folded her arms.

 "This isn't supposed to be fun, remember?  It's like work, only we don't get paid," Blossom sighed, trying very hard not to raise her voice.  "Honestly, with all we do, you'd think we'd get a little reward or something!  What is it with cities never endorsing their superheroes?"

"You said it," Bubbles sighed.

Buttercup gaped at them, "I can't believe you just said that.  What's the matter with you two?  Once you guys were more than willing to volunteer your time to save the day!  When did you become so selfish?  I recall you once said no reward was necessary, remember?"

Blossom rolled her eyes, "Whatever, but that gives you no right to question my strategies!  I have them for a reason!"

"You mean question your authority?" Buttercup hissed.

"Ye…Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Blossom demanded.

"You know, 'I'm Blossom, the all-knowing, better than thou leader of the Powerpuff Girls.  Bow to me and do whatever I say!'" Buttercup mocked Blossom's voice.

"I am _not like that!" Blossom gasped, "How dare you!"_

Bubbles cut in, "Um… guys?"

"Oh come on!  You've been like that ever since we were kids!  I might exaggerate a bit, but essentially that is what you're like," Buttercup snapped.

"You think so?" Blossom asked.

"Um, Guys?" Bubbles interrupted.  But it was clear that neither Blossom nor Buttercup were paying any attention to Bubbles.

"Yeah, you never listen to what Bubbles and I think," Buttercup retorted.

"Oh yeah?  Well this is you, 'I'm Buttercup, the rebel.  I'm stupid, but at least I'm tough!  Oh look at me!  Tough ol' Buttercup!  I like to hit things!  I can't get a coherent thought to enter my pretty little brain cuz I'm too busy acting like I'm tough! Even though everyone knows that deep down I'm a pathetic _wimp!'" Blossom mocked Buttercup's voice and punched the air at random. _

"You take that back!" Buttercup snapped.

"Or else what, are you gonna hit me?" Blossom smirked.

"Guys!" this time Bubbles raised her voice and pointed in the distance.

"Oh! Oh! And this is you Blossom, 'I'm smart.  Everyone loves me because I'm smart, and I am the class president!  I like being president because I can expand my dictatorship to other aspects of my shallow life!  I have my boyfriend tied around my little finger and he does whatever I want because I dictate my love life too!'"

"Leave Greg out of this!  At least I _have a boyfriend!  He loves me!  Our relationship is based on equality!"_

"Guys!" Bubbles raised her voice another notch.

"And at least I have friends!" Blossom added, "Who can like a bitch like you anyway?"

"Shut up!" Buttercup snapped.  Blossom obviously hit a sore spot.

"I mean, look at you.  You're so standoffish to everyone, you shut people out, you get into fights, you have no respect for authority…"

"I only have no respect for authority that has no respect for me," Buttercup said, defending herself, "Which is why I have no respect for you."

"Guys!!"

"That is totally unfair, I have a lot of respect for you!"

"Not anymore.  And you don't respect what you do anymore either!"

"I do so."

"Do not."

"Do so."

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Do not!  You're the one complaining about not getting paid for saving the day!"

Bubbles who was trying to get their attention had enough, she pushed her way between them, "GUYS!!!!!" she shrieked.

"WHAT?" Blossom and Buttercup snapped in unison.

Bubbles pointed towards the city, "While you two were fighting, the monster regained consciousness and has just this moment started to attack Townsville."

The squabbling sisters looked on.  Bubbles was right.  "Damn!" Blossom frowned, "This is your fault!" she pointed an accusing finger at Buttercup.

"Mine?  It was your fault.  You're the leader remember?  You should have put more thought into the strategy." Buttercup hissed.

"Like you even _listen_ to me!  Honestly, a disobedient, rebellious attitude is going to get you in trouble one day!" Blossom snapped back.  "This job is dangerous, you shouldn't blatantly disregard my leadership."

"Oh get off it!" Buttercup groaned, "There's nothing dangerous about this job anymore and you know it.  I think that's why you no longer care for it.  You just like it so you can boss us around."

"I do not!  I'm just the only one who takes this job seriously!"

"No you don't.  You hate it!"

"Oh shut up the both of you," Bubbles rolled her eyes, "Both of you are at fault here!  Honestly you and this crummy monster are a waste of my precious time!  Come on, let's get this over with, and properly this time.  I have important things to do." 

"Oh fine, if you guys hate it so much, just get lost!" Buttercup fumed, "I'll handle this myself!" she flew off after the monster and began throwing relentless blows to the monster.  Blossom and Bubbles, both downright pissed off joined her.  As they attacked the monster they attacked each other with words.

"You're so stubborn Buttercup!" Bubbles hissed, kicking one of the monster's tentacles.

"And you're a snob Bubbles!" Buttercup retorted, throwing a swift uppercut to the monster's chin.

"Buttercup, you have no respect for anyone but yourself," Blossom snapped, giving the monster a roundhouse kick.

"Neither do you Blossom," Buttercup snapped back in the midst of flipping the monster over her shoulder despite the fact it was ten times her size.

The poor monster didn't have a chance.

*****

Meanwhile in the distance, a dark figure watched with amusement.  His distraction worked perfectly, and he got an interesting scene to watch.  Trouble in paradise? He pondered, chuckling to himself.  While all the employees of Townsville's Power and Water Company were watching the battle nearby, he slipped off unnoticed until the entire city's water supply was in his grasp.  He removed a small vial from his coat pocket and emptied the contents into the water.  

The contents would have no effect on most people in Townsville.  The only ones who would be affected would be the Powerpuff Girls as the substance was Anitdote X, and that of course was the antidote for Chemical X, the very essence that led the girls into being.  For Chemical X was the very thing that spliced the sugar, spice and everything nice together, creating the Powerpuff girls, and taking that away would be the very thing that would eventually destroy them.

Now it was only a matter of time before the contamination would have it's effect and he could destroy the Powerpuff Girls.  Considering their apparent utter dislike for one another, it would most likely prove to be easier than he thought.  No need to do the old divide and conquer scheme he originally planned to use once the Antidote X started to take it's course. He laughed menacingly at the thought.


	2. After the Fight

A/N:  This is a long chapter in three parts.  It's meant to show how things have changed since they were kids, how they deal with constantly fighting, and how it affects the relationships around them, as well as give some background.  While chapter one you see the sisters at their worst, hopefully this chapter will provide some insight to them, as well as introduce some original characters (and Robyn- I know it's spelled Robin in the show, but I like it with the 'y', it's also the spelling for one of my good friends, and I fashioned the teenage Robyn after her, so that's why I changed it) The plot will pick up soon.  I promise.

****

****

**Chapter Two: After the Fight**

After the fight Bubbles returned to cheerleading only to find that it was time to finish, much to her annoyance.  She and her teammates, Sara, Megan and Jennifer joined Robyn Snyder at a quaint coffee shop nearby.  The fight with her sisters and the fact her practice was interrupted by the monster had Bubbles in a sour mood, and it was evident.

"What's wrong Bubbles?" Robyn asked with concern.  

Sara shrugged, "She's just pissed off at her sisters again."

"Not only that, but I missed the last half of cheerleading," she fumed, "I am so tired of my life constantly being interrupted, just because some crummy monster decides to show it's ugly head."

Robyn nodded with sympathy, "It must get annoying.  At least it doesn't happen very often anymore."

"Yeah, but when it does, it's always at the most inconvenient times," Bubbles folded her arms and sighed.

"I'll say," Jennifer nodded, "We missed you today."

Bubbles smiled, "Thanks.  Oh, and we would've been done quickly, but as always, Blossom and Buttercup had to get in another fight!" Her face turned sour once more.

"Again!" Robyn sighed.  She couldn't say she was surprised.  They lived next door to her and were her best friends.  Robyn was the only mutual friend of the three so she always knew when they were fighting, which over the past year was constantly.  Robyn was getting fed up.

"Yeah," Bubbles huffed, "Buttercup had to go on this rampage, calling Blossom a dictator and me a snob.  _Me!_ Of all people!"

"Yeah well, Buttercup's a bitch," Sara shrugged, "_She's _the snob if you ask me.  It's no wonder she's a loser, with her tough, mad at the world act."

"And Blossom is such a control freak," Megan added, "We're on the grad committee together, and I don't see how you can live with either one of them Bubbles.  You're so much better than them."

Bubbles nodded, they were right about her sisters, but at the same time were very wrong.  It wasn't always like that.  What changed?

"Well," Robyn spoke up in their defense, "Blossom just wants things done well and done right.  What's wrong with that?  As for Buttercup… well you know how she's been since junior high.  And can you blame her?"

"Oh please!" Jennifer exclaimed, "What happened to Buttercup in junior high, she only brought on herself with her inflated ego.  That was five years ago.  She should get over it."

"I imagine that it's easier said than done" Robyn said quietly, "Her friends betrayed her, she was publicly humiliated by the people she trusted.  That's not something one can just get over…"

"And Blossom, she _is a control freak.  I mean, her way isn't always the best way.  Of course she's always been like that, bossy.   Right Bubbles?" Jennifer nudged Bubbles, ignoring Robyn completely._

"Well, she has always been the leader of the Powerpuff Girls," Bubbles shrugged, still red with anger, "But yeah, I don't see why we always have to follow her plans.  We're so good at what we do, would it kill us if we answered a call one at a time and take turns?  At least then I'd only have to have my life interrupted at least once a month!  Of course Blossom always says no.  'It's too dangerous' she says.  No it's not!  We've become unbeatable.  Everyone says so. Even the major villains agreed- that's why they've all left!  So I don't see what the big deal is, why can't we do it that way?  I mean, seriously! We haven't felt the slightest injury since… I don't remember the last time we felt threatened!"

Robyn listened to her rant; she was tired of hearing it, since it hardly changed.  Looking over at Bubbles' friends, she was the only one really paying any attention.  Robyn rolled her eyes at them and continued to listen to Bubbles.

"And I don't see why Buttercup has to be so… stubborn!  She's the one who always makes saving the day take so much more time than it has to.  Always wants to make it 'fun'.  If she wants to have fun, then she should do it on her own time!  But then she never does.  She's so miserable!  She hardly ever leaves her room, unless it's to just disappear for a few hours!" Bubbles fumed.

"You know, you three need to have a serious talk.  You need to tell them how you feel," Robyn suggested.

"And then we'd just have another fight!  That's how it always goes," Bubbles raved with frustration, "No one listens to me."

"You three used to be so close.  It's disgusting to see how much you've all changed for the worse since your stupid feud started.  Do you honestly wish to fight forever?  You _need_ to have a talk with them anyway.  It's important that you do," Robyn pleaded.  "You need to listen to each other."

"I've _tried!" Bubbles waved her arms, "It always ends with harsh words being exchanged!  Neither Blossom, nor Buttercup are willing to listen to what I have to say!"_

Robyn looked away in defeat, frustrated.  She didn't get it.  She needed to hear them out too.  They all did.

"That's because Buttercup's a bitch and Blossom's a control freak.  It's that simple," Jennifer said in a matter of fact tone.

"Yeah!" Megan agreed. "Oh!  Did you guys see what Buttercup was wearing today?"

"I know!  What a loser!" Sara laughed.  Bubbles looked away, still fuming, but deep in thought.

Robyn had enough.  "Excuse me," she sighed, getting up and storming off."

"What's her problem?" Megan frowned.

"Who know?" Sara replied.

"Who cares?" Jennifer shrugged.

Bubbles nodded quietly, giving a small, defeated smile.  She knew.  Robyn liked Blossom and Buttercup.  The four of them had been friends forever.  It must suck for Robyn, having to endure all of the gossiping about them, and be ignored in the process.  Bubbles sighed as her friends continued to gossip.  While she was still mad at her sisters, Robyn was right.  They did need to have a talk.  If only they could find a moment when all three of them were cooled off.

*****

Blossom rejoined her boyfriend Greg Morris and moved their studying to his house.  Blossom tapped furiously at her laptop, typing out her English essay.  Next to her Greg was working on his own paper, but stopped to watch Blossom. He had been watching her for a few minutes, frantically typing, with a cross expression on her face.  Her eyes were watery and her lower lip was quivering.  Finally Greg said, "Is everything OK Bloss?"

"Fine," Blossom replied quickly.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," was her sharp response.

"OK, because you've just typed the same sentence twice," he said, pointing to her screen, "See?"

Blossom rolled her eyes and madly pressed delete for every letter in the repeated sentence.  Before she could finish deleting Greg grabbed her wrist, and before she could protest he said, "Sweetie, honey!  Relax.  Honestly at the rate you're going, you're gonna break your keyboard.  I'm surprised you haven't already considering your strength and the way you've been pounding those keys.  Give the poor thing a break, what did that laptop do to you anyway?"

Blossom's nostrils were flaring.  She looked at him, exasperated.  "Everything is fine!"

"You need to calm down," Greg said plainly.

"What do you think I'm _trying to do?" Blossom motioned to her English paper._

Greg grinned, "Obviously.  But it's not working now is it?  You need to take a bit of a break."  He put his arm around her, "C'mon, tell me all about it."  He gave her a quick peck on the cheek. 

"Oh you know," Blossom sighed, "The usual."

"Not another fight with your sisters…"

"Yes.  Honestly, Buttercup is impossible!  She has no respect for anything!" Blossom sighed.

"What was it about this time?"

"The usual.  She never listens to what I say!  Every time a stupid monster decides to show up, she always questions my leadership.  If she'd just do as I say, we could be done so much faster!" Blossom fumed.

Greg nodded, "Well baby, don't you think maybe you're taking the job a bit too seriously?"

"What do you mean?"

"Crimefighting, leading the Powerpuff Girls.  You three have been doing this what?  Ten years now?"

"Twelve."

"See? You've done this all your lives, you're all so strong and you know all the moves like the back of your pretty little hand, they don't _need_ a boss anymore.  They need a promotion."

Blossom gave an indignant "HA!" 

"You don't understand…"

"I can just imagine Buttercup as leader.  What a mess that would be!  She'd ruin everything, going in without any thought of the consequences," Blossom gave a shrill laugh.

"That's not what I meant," Greg said, "if you'd just let me finish…"

"Fine," Blossom nodded, "I'm sorry.  Continue."

"It's been proven time and time again that you three are unbeatable, no matter what you do.  You all could single-handedly defeat pretty much _any_ monster that comes your way.  You've all been doing this for so long now that, don't take this the wrong way, but maybe they resent having you for a leader when they both know they can handle it themselves," Greg said.  "You're all so good that, maybe they no longer need a leader."

Blossom shot him a dirty look, "Are you saying they don't need me anymore?"

"No, that's not it at all but…" Greg paused, "maybe you should tackle your next foe as equals.  I'm sure Buttercup would be more responsive and less antagonistic if you listen to her ideas, not as a leader, but as a sister."

"So you're saying the reason we don't get along is _my_ fault?" Blossom raised her voice sounding like a child.

"No!" Greg raised his arms in defense and messed his brown hair a bit, "That's not what I'm saying at all, but sometimes to get things resolved, one of you has to make the first move."

"Not until she apologizes," Blossom frowned haughtily.

"Blossom…" Greg was starting to get annoyed with her and it was evident in his voice.  "Man, what's gotten into you?  You are not the Blossom I know right now.  The Blossom I know is rational, heroic and tries to do the right thing.  Maybe you should go home and calm down.  You're too mad right now, you're not thinking clearly.  Do you honestly want this silly little feud to go on forever?"

"I… no," Blossom shook her head, lowering her voice.  "I hate always fighting."

"Then maybe you should swallow your pride and make the first move," Greg said plainly.

Blossom felt a tear escape her watery eyes.  There was a long quiet moment, which was awkward for Greg, but he just put his hand on her shoulder and waited until she finally spoke up. "Buttercup and I… we used to get along so well despite our differences.  And now, she just pushes everyone away.  Now all of a sudden, Bubbles, Buttercup and I, we fight all the time!  Especially Buttercup and me.  One day, everything was fine and the next…this!  If we say anything to each other, unless it's small talk, we're fighting.  I hate it Greg, I really do!"  She leaned into him and buried her face in his shoulder.  "I wish I knew what happened to cause all of this." Her voice broke and she began to sob.

"I know you do," Greg said gently, he ran his fingers through her soft red hair.

"I know it's partially my fault," Blossom confessed through her sobs, "I've said some pretty mean things to Buttercup lately, but so has she!  But hasn't been herself lately and I worry about her, and I don't know what to do!"

"Talk to her," Greg said, "Tell her this."

"And Bubbles!  She hasn't been herself lately either.  I can still get along with her most of the time, but we have our share of arguments.  Bubbles and Buttercup, that's another story.  She avoids speaking to Buttercup at all costs, ignoring her.  She's changed, she's hardened somehow," Blossom continued, "And she's become mean."

"Bubbles?  Mean?"

"Yeah," Blossom nodded, "To people who aren't cool enough for her.  I don't think she realizes it, because she tries to be kind to everyone, but she looks down on people.  Ignores people.  She has her own fan club, and I think it's gotten to her head."

 "It seems to me that the three of you need to have a serious talk."

"Every time we try, it always ends with harsh words being spoken," Blossom lamented.  "I've said some terrible things today Greg, terrible.  Buttercup's good at hiding how she feels, but I could tell today that she was hurting, and I only made things worse.  I feel awful."

"I'm sure she said hurtful things too," Greg said, "You three need to resolve this.  This silly feud of yours has gotten way out of hand.  It's changed you, all of you for the worse."  Blossom nodded.  "Maybe you should go home and talk to Buttercup."

"You're right," Blossom said, giving him a kiss. "As soon as Buttercup apologizes, because she said some mean things too you know…"

"No.  You go talk to her.  Right now," Greg added, not returning the kiss, but instead pushing her away.

"Now?"

"Yeah, and Blossom, please don't take this the wrong way, but don't come back until you get this resolved," Greg added carefully, like it was the hardest thing he ever had to say.

"What are you saying?" Blossom asked.

"This rift between you and your sisters, it's affected more than your relationship with them.  It's affected ours.  For the last few months, you haven't been the girlfriend I know.  All this anger and hurt has made you a difficult person to be around, and it's only getting worse," he said.

"Are… are you breaking up with me?" Blossom asked, shocked; tears were still streaming down her cheek.

Greg shook his head and wiped her tears, "No, no.  Not that.  I love you Blossom, I really do.  It's just that every time we get together lately, all we talk about is the latest fight you've had with your sisters.  When you're here with me, your mind is elsewhere, and I can't handle it.  I can't handle having a girlfriend who's constantly worrying over trouble at home.  I've tried to help you, I've tried to be here for you, but you know how many times we've had this conversation?  Dozens, and I'm tired of it.  You're feud is going in circles, and I feel like I'm caught in the middle.  We need a break."

"Oh my goodness, you _are breaking up with me," Blossom lowered her eyes and let out a frustrated cry._

Greg leaned forward and gave her a passionate kiss on the lips, trying to comfort her.  Under the circumstances however, it was not comforting at all and she pulled away, bewildered.  "Blossom, I love you," he said, "I adore you.  This is only temporary.  Call it tough love if you will.  Maybe if we take a break from one another, it will prompt you to make amends with your sisters before it's too late.  You have no idea how hard it is for me to do this."

"We've been together four years Greg," Blossom didn't seem to be listening, "I can't believe you're breaking up with me."

"I am _not breaking up with you," Greg insisted.  "This is for your own good.  You're relationship with your sisters is too important."_

Blossom shook her head and frantically saved her work and closed her laptop.  Her head was spinning.  "Fine," she said blankly, "I'll see you in school."  With that she flew off, crying.

*****

After the monster was defeated Buttercup retreated to her room.  She was so upset and angry she slammed the door behind her and overturned her desk in a rage.  She took a few deep breaths trying to calm down; thankful the Professor wasn't home.  She sat on her bed, her arms folded, her cheeks red with anger.  Blossom touched a few sensitive areas, although Buttercup didn't want to admit it.  It wasn't _entirely_ her fault that she didn't have friends for one thing.  She used to be just as popular as her sisters, but in eighth grade, her friends, the people she trusted, betrayed her and tried to ruin her reputation and humiliated her in front of Townsville.  Since then, she had serious trust issues and Buttercup was the first to admit she was not the type to forgive very easily.

Sure, by tenth grade, some of her former friends apologized saying it was a 'junior high thing' but by then, Buttercup no longer cared about popularity, and she certainly didn't care about them.  It was too late for apologies.  Instead she was satisfied with her one true friend Kevin Daily, and a few casual acquaintances.  She was a loner most of the time.  

The other time Blossom went too far in the argument was when she pointed out that Buttercup was afraid of being weak, or as Blossom put it, a wimp.  It had its impact on her because it was true.  She had a phobia of weakness and normalcy.  She used to have nightmares about losing her powers in the middle of battle and everyone laughed at her, telling her she was a weakling: pathetic and stupid.  Then her foe would laugh at her, just before he/she crushed her

Her eyes scanned her room.  It didn't have much in the way of decoration.  She didn't have many personal belongings since she was saving her money to get away from Townsville once school was over.  There was little reason to stay except to fight crime, but she could do that anywhere.  Besides, the people of Townsville really didn't need them anymore.  After they girls were declared unbeatable, all the major villains moved on or moved away, besides, Bubbles and Blossom were staying.  Bubbles had an art scholarship at the prestigious Townsville Art School, and Blossom was going to Townsville University to study political science, and already had an internship at city hall, working for Mayor Bellum herself.  They could handle it.  Buttercup wanted to go where she was needed, and appreciated.  No one in Townsville appreciated her.

Buttercup heaved a sigh and looked at her pictures on the wall.  It was really the only decoration she had.  Most of the pictures were black and whites- photos of things Buttercup found interesting. Her favorite picture was that of a sad old man strumming on his guitar outside of a café on a windy autumn day.  He was wrinkled, dirty and unshaven, wearing ragged mismatched clothes, a cigarette butt was sticking out of his mouth.  He took no notice of Buttercup as she took the picture, and didn't even look up when she was finished.  In her mind, with his rough, unapproachable exterior and sad eyes, he was the epitome of loneliness, and she felt a strange empathy for him.  

Buttercup's eyes focused on one of the few color pictures on the wall.  It made her sick inside.  It was of her and her sisters, taken almost a year ago, on their 17th birthday.  Blossom, beautiful as ever was on the left, her head resting lazily on Buttercup's shoulder.  Buttercup was in the middle and it was one of the rare pictures in which she was smiling.  She hated her smile, so she rarely did, but they were having so much fun that day, it was hard not to.  Her arms were draped around her sisters' shoulders.  Bubbles, who was on her right had her hand on Buttercup's right shoulder and was looking at both of her sisters, the picture captured her in mid laughter, her long golden hair was down and picked up slightly by the wind. They were so close, and so happy.  Buttercup shook her head, "What happened to us?"  

All their lives they argued about something, but they always got over it.  Lately however tension began to grow, and it quickly came to the point where they just couldn't get along.  She loved her sisters dearly, but sometimes couldn't stand to be in the same room with them, and she knew they felt the same way about her.  She was rather hard to get along with; she was so short-tempered, stubborn and brash.  And ever since junior high, she pushed people away.  She pushed her family away.

She knew it was partially her fault.  It'd be unfair to say it wasn't.  But they were all to blame.  They had grown apart.  Their personalities clashed, and it finally got to the point where they could no longer seem to reconcile their differences.  

Blossom's superiority complex she had since they were kids only matured with time and it clashed with Buttercup's stubbornness.  And Bubbles, with her sunny magnetic personality had become the most popular girl in school, but she also became a snob.  While trying to be nice to everyone, she had inadvertently become inclusive and cliquish, so Buttercup's dark attitude cramped her style.  And Buttercup, while she denied it, was jealous of her sisters, because they both had so much going for them.  They were multitalented, popular, got top grades and were loved by everyone, while no one seemed to see through Buttercup's tough façade.

It was the direction that their relationship was going that bothered Buttercup the most and she knew the feeling was mutual.  .She wished that somehow, some miracle would bring them all back together.  It would take more than an empty apology to one another.  Of course, since both Buttercup and Blossom were hardheaded in their own way, any apology from either of them would in itself a miracle.  Ever since they were young they both refused to apologize until the other did it first.

Buttercup stared at the picture of the three of them, wondering why.  Why did they drift so far apart in such a short time?  They needed to sort it out.  There was something unspoken by all three of them, something hidden inside them, tearing them apart, poisoning their relationship, destroying them.  Frustrated Buttercup dived into bed, burying her face in her pillow, but she didn't cry.

A/N I don't know what happened to my reviews, it says there are four, but I can only see one on the site.  Oh well, at least I know what was written thanks to e-mail.

**Raskolin**** Phoenix: Hey you're my first reviewer ever!  Thanks so much for the review!  You guess that this will focus on Buttercup?  Well, you're sort of right.  In theory the first part is supposed to be about all three sisters, but I admit I'm going to be a bit biased since she's my fave, and I find it easy to write about her.  ^_^**

**Hairy Gregory**: You're right, they have grown up to have inflated egos.  All three of them- although Blossom and Bubbles more so, because they are smart, popular and have a lot going for them.  And honestly, imagine spending your entire life in the spotlight, adored by everyone.  Heroes from (almost) the very beginning, constantly praised, and adored, and considered undefeatable, unbeatable, invincible, it'd be hard not to develop an ego.  And you guess "Him" is behind the water contamination?  Really?  Hmmmm… I'm not saying if you're right or wrong.  You'll just have to wait and see.

**Heart Throb**: Thanks for the reviews!  I'm glad you like!


	3. The First Sign

A/N A bit more of arguing goodness er, badness.  I hope you're all enjoying this and I hope this isn't boring anyone.  But the plot will pick up soon.  I swear!  

****

**Chapter Three: The First Sign**

There was obvious tension at the dinner table that evening.  The Professor sighed, wishing he knew how to help the squabbling sisters.  The tension he was sensing wasn't new, but it was a lot stronger.

Bubbles was deep in thought mindlessly eating her veggie-burger patty.  Cutting it up slowly into little bites, and slowly putting her fork to her mouth, chewing her food taking forever to actually swallow.  She sighed once, glancing over at her family just once, and then looked down at her plate, not looking up again.  She was so lost in thought, she almost didn't seem aware of her surroundings.

Blossom's eyes were puffy, obviously the eyes of a girl who had been crying,  Her cheeks were red and she was cutting her chicken like it was tough, overcooked steak even though it was a tender chicken breast that could easily be cut with the side of a fork.  She did everything with harsh, jerky, ungraceful and very un-Blossomlike movements.  She was fighting back more tears and avoiding everyone's gaze.

And Buttercup just sat in her seat, stabbing her chicken with her fork, picking at it.  She took a forkful of mashed potatoes and slopped it back on her plate, then started mixing her vegetables with the potatoes, and repeated the process.  Her cheeks were hot with repressed anger and looked like she was about ready to explode if someone would even try and acknowledge her.  The Professor didn't recall seeing a single bite come to her mouth.

The silence was deafening.

"Well," he said, trying to break the tense silence and maybe brighten the mood, "I had a good day today.  The board of directors has asked me to join their permanent staff.  I said I'd think about it, not wanting to sound too eager, but I'm really excited about it!  I'm so glad I took that job.  I just love it, working, inspiring eager young minds."  He was referring to his job at Townsville University.  He took a temporary position covering for a professor who was on maternity leave.  The Professor found that teaching science was his true calling.  It was obvious that either none of the girls were listening, or were too upset to care.  To test it out he added, "Oh, and we managed to crossbreed an elephant with a mouse today, and I robbed three banks, but then I got hit by a random plane and eaten alive by rabid butterflies, but that was before I saved the President from an army of rabbits."  He looked around the table and tried to make eye contact with them, hoping to see a smile, or some form of recognition.

"Mmm, that's nice," Bubbles sighed.

Blossom wiped away an escaped tear, "Nice try Professor, but it didn't work."

Buttercup rose to her feet and took her plate with her, setting it on the counter.

"Where are you going?" the Professor asked.

"To my room.  I'm full, see you later," Buttercup replied.

"You haven't eaten a thing, come back here," he said.  She rolled her eyes and brought her plate back to the table and set it down, folding her arms. "Sit." In a huff she sat down growling indignantly.  "Girls we need to talk."  He sounded stern, and was going to go straight to the problem of their constant feud, but noticed that Blossom started to cry again, quietly to herself.

"Blossom, honey, what's wrong?" he asked gently.

She sniffed, "Nothing."

"Oh please!  What is it now?" Buttercup asked harshly, wanting to get their talk over with so she could leave.

Blossom gave her a sharp look, "For your information, Greg broke up with me."

"What?" Bubbles gasped, snapping out of her trance.

The Professor put his hand on her shoulder, "Oh honey…"

"Why would he do a thing like that anyway?" Buttercup hissed.  She was mad at Blossom, but she and Greg were in her eyes the perfect couple.  The two of them were madly in love and the thought of them ever breaking up seemed impossible.  That fact made her even madder.  It did explain why Blossom seemed more hurt than angry.  But when Buttercup asked that question, the anger seemed to rise.

"Because of you!" she hissed accusingly, pointing a finger.

"Me!  What did I do?" Buttercup raised her hands in protest.

"He is sick of us fighting.  He says it affected our relationship," Blossom replied, her voice rising.

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" Buttercup snapped.  "It takes two to fight."

"But one to start it…"

"Are you saying _I started this?" Buttercup gasped, "You can't be serious!" she raised her voice angrily, not liking the accusations._

"Oh I don't know, and I don't care anymore!" Blossom sobbed, defeated. Their fight had gone on way too long, and she lost the one she loved because of it.  In her anger, she was sure that Greg was breaking up with her, not taking a break for her sake.   Bubbles was starting to cry too, and even the Professor was having a hard time keeping his cool.  After a moment Blossom said softly, "You hurt me deeply."

"Yeah, well you said some pretty mean things too," Buttercup snapped, the only one not practically in tears.  "You hurt me too!  You all have!" she yelled.

"What did I do?" Bubbles protested.

"Are you saying that _I hurt you too?" the Professor asked, shocked._

"Oh just forget it," Buttercup frowned.

Blossom threw her fork down, "I am so sick of you!" she hissed, "You and your attitude.  Just mad at the world, aren't you Buttercup?  It's all about you!  You and your cold, tough, impenetrable heart!  Well, what about me?  You don't care about anyone but yourself!"

"Neither do you!  It's about time the Prince and Princess of Perfect broke up.  He deserves so much better that you!  No wonder he dumped you! You're the most bossy, selfish and… and… argh!" Not able to think up another insult, Buttercup threw her plate on the floor.  She didn't truly believe that, feeling that Greg and Blossom were truly meant for each other, but knew that it would hurt Blossom's feelings.

Blossom screamed and lunged at Buttercup, who was sitting right next to her.

"Girls now that's enough!" the Professor stood up and slammed his fist on the table, "Stop it!"  Startled by the Professor's reaction, which was not typical for him, they stopped before their fight turned physical.  Buttercup's chair had tipped but rocked back in place.  Blossom buried her face in her hands.  "Look at yourselves.  Look at what you three have become!  Buttercup, clean up the mess you've made." 

Buttercup frowned and began picking up the pieces of shattered plate with her bare hands, not worried about cutting herself, since penetrating their skin was impossible now that their powers had matured so much.  Or so she thought.  As she threw the fragments of porcelain in the garbage harshly, demonstrating how down right pissed off she was, she felt a little sting.  She looked at her hand.  Was that a scratch?  Sure enough, while it wasn't deep enough to draw blood, she had managed to peel a small patch of the top layer of skin.  She picked the excess skin off, thinking nothing of it and began cleaning the slivers of broken porcelain and untouched food.

As the disgruntled Buttercup cleaned her mess, the Professor continued, "You girls are acting like preschoolers!  You're graduating in a few months and… I hate to see your future, the way things are going."

Buttercup snorted.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied.  With that she stormed out of the kitchen, and out of the house, not returning until well after curfew.  She ignored the Professors defeated looks when she came home and went to her room.

A/N Yep, Bubbles is a vegetarian (I think if I could talk to animals, I'd be one too) 

        The first sign of the anti-X has started, subtle though, right?

        Thanks for the reviews!  Hey!  Keep 'em comin', they make me so happy!

**Hairy Gregory**: Gotta love pop-psychology.  You're on the right track too with the guesses.  As for Robyn's name…Actually I don't know how it's written in the show, I think the credits say "Robin" as for her last name, I saw it spelled "Snyder" on some website. (don't remember which one though)  But then again I don't think it's that important (unless she was a real person^_^).  Right?

**Raskolin** **Phoenix**: Hey congrats on winning… stuff.  I never win anything.  Oh well.  LOL!


	4. AntiX Discovered

**Chapter Four: Anti-X Discovered**

The next morning, Blossom woke up feeling rather strange.  She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something didn't feel right.  She felt tired.  Of course she was up late, crying herself to sleep, only to be jolted awake by Buttercup coming home.  The sound of the door slamming was startled her enough to cost her another hour's sleep.  But that wasn't why she felt tired.  It was a different kind of tired that felt unlike sleep deprivation, or the kind that came from being emotionally drained.  Although she certainly was that.  Who wouldn't be with the verbal battles she was fighting?

No, this feeling was strange.  Very strange.

Blossom sighed, figuring it was because so much was going on: fighting with her sisters, breaking up with her boyfriend, duties as class president, grad committee, work, fighting monsters and maintaining high honours among other things.  There was one thing Buttercup was right about her- she was an over achiever.  At least she wasn't lazy.

Blossom showered and dressed.  She threw on jeans and a t-shirt, something she normally didn't wear. She usually dressed for success.  She didn't feel like looking pretty.

She also decided not to wear any makeup, not that it was really necessary to begin with.  Because of their powers, the super sisters had flawless complexions.  Their skin was impenetrable.  For as long as they could remember, they never had one cut, scratch, bruise, burn, not even a pimple.  One of the many perks of being a child of Chemical X. All Blossom ever wore anyway was a little bit of shadow and lip gloss, but she didn't bother.  Why try looking pretty when you feel miserable?

Blossom went downstairs and made herself some coffee and toast.  The Professor was already up and ready for work.  "Hello Blossom, feel any better this morning?"

"I guess," Blossom sighed, "A little strange, but I've cooled off if that's what you mean.  I plan to stay out of Buttercup's hair today, so long as she stays out of mine."

"Good.  How about you and Bubbles?  How's your relationship?  You two don't talk much," the Professor said.

"We get along fine," Blossom replied, "when we're not fighting.  We usually stay out of each other's way.  Different interests, you know?  But really, it's Buttercup I can't stand anymore."

"I see," the Professor nodded, disheartened by her words, but thankful that Blossom at least was honest with him.

"We just can never see eye to eye," Blossom added, "ever."

"You never really have, you both have always had a strong will, and conflicting personalities, but you both used to look past that, and accept your differences," the Professor commented.

Blossom didn't reply.  He was right, but they couldn't look past their differences anymore.

Bubbles joined them, yawning.  She looked like the typical all-American girl, with long golden hair, blue eyes and tanned skin, and trendy clothes.  Even when sleepy she always seemed to have a bounce in her step- but that morning it was missing.

"Morning Bubbles," the Professor greeted.

"Hey," she replied, hardly paying attention.  She poured herself some coffee and sat down at the table, not completely awake yet, and still upset about the night before.

Blossom sat down next to Bubbles and skimmed through the headlines in the paper.  Nothing exciting.  "Monster attack", "Accident on 42nd  delayed traffic", "Evian water delivery truck stolen", "New mall to open Saturday".  Blossom put the paper aside and sighed, "How's it going Bubbles?"

"Fine," she shrugged, "Feel a little strange this morning, you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, feeling a little better," Blossom nodded, "I feel kinda strange too, but I think all this arguing is finally getting to us.  I feel drained."

"Me too," Bubbles sighed.

Blossom asked thoughtfully, "You and I, we get along OK, right?"

Bubbles shrugged, "For the most part, I guess."

"You don't think I'm a bad leader do you?  A dictator?  A control freak?" Blossom asked.  Being kept up late had her thinking.

"No," Bubbles replied.

"You're not just saying that?" 

"You're fine," Bubbles shrugged.  "You're a natural at taking charge, nothing wrong with that."

"You don't resent me as leader of the Powerpuff Girls?" Blossom asked, "You don't ever wish it were different?"

"No," Bubbles replied, "You're a good leader, really."

Blossom felt that Bubbles wasn't entirely truthful.  Maybe she was just being paranoid but she needed to know, "Really?"

"Yes!"  Bubbles sounded irritated this time, no longer indifferent, "Can you just get off it?"

"You're sure?  Because lately you seem so… distant."

Bubbles sighed, she paused, "OK, you want to know the truth?" Blossom nodded.  "It has nothing to do with you personally, or your leadership, but the truth is…"

Buttercup came into the kitchen, her entrance cutting off the conversation.  She looked so miserable that if it were possible, she'd have a black cloud raining over her head.  She wore dark jeans, a black "Bif Naked" shirt and a red bandana covering her unkempt raven black hair.  She looked like she hardly slept a wink.  She poured herself a big glass of orange juice and took a drink, "It's warm," she complained.

"I just made it this morning," the Professor replied, "It would've been made last night if someone didn't put the empty pitcher back in the fridge again."

"Whatever," Buttercup frowned, knowing she was the guilty party.

The  Professor sighed, "Put some ice in it and quit complaining."

"Yeah, yeah," Buttercup downed her OJ and grabbed her bag, "Well I'm off."

"Where does your glass go?" the Professor asked.

Buttercup rolled her eyes and put it in the sink before flying off.

The sound of honking outside perked Bubbles up, "It's Mike!  See ya!" Bubbles said, gathering her things and throwing her mug in the sink, leaving Blossom and the Professor alone.

Blossom put her dishes away and slung her bag over her shoulder, "I guess I should go too.  See you later Professor."

***

Buttercup went to her locker and put her books away in a fury.  It was only lunchtime and she already managed to fail a math test, lose her English essay which was due, and get another detention for being late.  On top of that, Bubbles' bitchy best friends purposely sprayed her with water at the drinking fountain, in front of everyone.  Even a couple of hours later, people were still snickering at her.

Buttercup rolled her eyes.  They were so juvenile.  Every single one of them.  She was practically counting the days until school was over and she could leave.  She went to the cafeteria bought her food and sat down at an empty table in the far corner of the room.  She picked at her food miserably; she didn't know why she bothered getting it.  She didn't have much of an appetite anymore.

"Yo! BC, why so glum chum?" a voice behind her interrupted her misery.

Only one person in the world ever called her 'BC' so she knew exactly who it was without looking up, "Hey Kevin!  Have a seat," she said to her best and only good friend, Kevin Daily.

"So, what's up, why the long face?  The usual?" Kevin asked.

Buttercup nodded, "Yeah, yesterday we had a doozy of an argument.  But really, today I'm just having a bad day.  You know?  One of those days where nothing goes right."

"Care to rant?"

"Nah," Buttercup shook her head, "I'm all ranted out I think.  You should've seen me yesterday."

"Well BC, you know I'm here for you, right?"

Buttercup nodded, looking up at him.  Her face darkened, "What happened to your eye?"

Kevin put his hand to his black eye, "My old man.  You know the usual.  Came home drunk again last night."

"That's it," Buttercup shook her head, enraged, "I'm going to beat the snot out of him.  He has no right to do that to you!"

"Let me fight my own battles, OK?" Kevin asked, "I broke his nose fighting back.  I can handle him."

"Good.  He deserves a broken nose," Buttercup frowned, "But just say the word buddy, and I'm there.  The bastard has no right…"

"I know," Kevin put his hand on her shoulder; his mere touch calmed her down, "Thanks.  Did you and your sisters manage to resolve anything?"

Buttercup shook her head, "No.  Blossom blames me for her boyfriend breaking up with her and…"

"Wait, Blossom and Greg broke up?"

Buttercup nodded, "Man I was so mean to her about it too.  I feel terrible."

"But they didn't break up," Kevin said.

"Yes they did, Blossom said…"

"No they didn't," Kevin corrected her, "Greg was talking about it in the change room after gym this morning.  He said they're taking a break, a time-out."

"What?"  Buttercup gasped, "But Blossom…"

"Might have misunderstood him.  I don't blame her.  According to locker room guy talk, when most guys want to take a break, they're in reality breaking up.  But that's not the case with Greg.  He loves her," Kevin said, "He regrets doing it."

Buttercup sighed with relief, "That's good.  I can't imagine them apart.  Now I can cross that off the list of reasons Blossom hates me."

"Blossom doesn't hate you," Kevin said.

"She always looks at me with contempt," Buttercup sighed, "so does Bubbles.  When we're not arguing, she ignored me completely.  Oh and this morning, Bubbles' bitchy friends doused me with water when I was waiting to use the fountain.  Everyone laughed."

"That sucks."

"Sometimes I wonder if we'll ever make up,' Buttercup said quietly.  "I know it's partially my fault, with my stupid temper." She paused, and then sighed miserably, "Whatever.  It doesn't matter anymore."

"BC, don't you dare say that, ever!" Kevin said forcefully, but gently, "You three _need to make up, and soon.  Taken from someone with a broken family, like me.  I haven't spoken to my brother since he left.  That was three years ago.  Everyday I long to talk to him and see if he's all right.  I know the situation's different for you, but it kills me to think that your family life is heading in the direction mine went."_

Buttercup said nothing.  She pushed her tray away and rested her head on the table and looked away, heaving a big sigh.

"You know what?  I think you're depressed," Kevin stated.

"What?  Me?  Depressed?  Nah!" Buttercup sat up and faced him, "I'm fine."

"C'mon, look at yourself girl.  You hardly eat; from the looks of things you don't get much sleep either.  You obviously feel down and it seems to me you've given up," Kevin pointed out, "That's not the BC I know.  The BC I know is a fighter who doesn't let anything get her down and rises up to face challenges big or small."

"I'm just tired," There was more truth to that statement than Buttercup realized.  She forced a smile, "And really, other than my family life, social life and school, I'm happy."

Kevin thought a moment, "Buttercup!  Friday, you and me… we're gonna catch a movie, OK?"

"I can't," Buttercup shook her head.

"Why not?  It'll cheer you up, and we hardly do anything together anymore.  And I happen to know you don't get out much anymore either.  You need to get out and have some fun!  You remember fun don't you?" Kevin grinned, poking her side teasingly.

"Of course I do!" Buttercup rolled her eyes, grinning.  It was more genuine this time.  For a moment, she looked like her old self.

"There's the look I've been missin'! Then let's go and do something Friday and have some fun!  OK?" Kevin nudged her.

"Fine," Buttercup replied. "Y'know?  You sure do have a knack for cheering a girl up."

"It's a gift really,' Kevin shrugged, "Seriously though, I hope you will take what I said to heart and make amends with your sisters before it's too late."

"You mean before graduation and I leave?" Buttercup asked.  Kevin was the only one who knew she was planning to leave Townsville.

"Yeah."

"I hope I can," she said thoughtfully, sometimes wondering if it was too already too late.

***

The next day went by without much incident.  The girls weren't on speaking terms with each other, unless the conversation was limited to small talk.  They weren't able to resolve anything and even though things were quiet and cooled off between them, tension was still strong.  Ironically, all three were ready to talk and listen, but all were afraid that trying would bring forth another fight, worse than before.

Thursday morning, Buttercup woke up feeling stranger than before.  The past few days she hadn't felt herself, emotionally and physically.  Since Tuesday morning, she felt odd, lacking energy, feeling tired, but she didn't say anything, figuring it was because she was upset and angry.  That morning however it seemed to catch up with her.  This time it was accompanied with a headache.  She stumbled out of bed, feeling slightly dizzy.  The spell passed quickly, but it was definitely not normal.  Not for her anyway.  She looked at her hand at the barely there scratch.  In the heat of the argument the other day she ignored it, but now that she thought of it, something wasn't right.  Getting a scratch of any kind was in theory, impossible.

Odd.

Buttercup put on her jeans and a black tank top and a sheer pale yellow button up shirt which she wore undone and combed her hair.  Everything felt surreal and strange, like she was still in a dream.  

Very odd.

Joining her sisters she noticed that both Blossom and Bubbles seemed to be a little under the weather as well, but like Buttercup were trying to hide the fact.

Very odd indeed.

"Morning," Buttercup muttered.  Blossom and the Professor said, "Good morning," without looking up.

"Hi," Bubbles sighed, looking over at Buttercup, "Hey!  You're wearing my shirt!"

Buttercup looked at the pale yellow shirt, "This is yours?"

"Yes!"

"Oh!  Can I borrow it?" Buttercup smirked.

"Fine, whatever Buttercup," Bubbles sighed, "I don't feel like dealing with this right now, I have a headache."

"You too?" Blossom and Buttercup asked in unison.  All were surprised by that reaction.

"Wait a minute, you girls don't get headaches," the Professor exclaimed.

"I know," Blossom nodded, "But I have one this morning."

"Anything else out of the ordinary?" asked the Professor.

"No," Buttercup lied, although she didn't know why.

"When I got up this morning, I felt kind of woozy," Blossom confessed.

"Me too," said Bubbles, "but I feel better now, except for the headache.  What's this supposed to mean?" 

The Professor shook his head, "I don't know." He looked worried.

"It's not that bad," Buttercup said, "Just a headache.  No biggie."

"When was the last time you had a headache?" he asked dryly.  There was a long pause as the girls strained to remember, "Exactly.  It's been years, and that was caused by a particularly difficult fight.  Something's not right."

"You know," Bubbles frowned, "I've been feeling kind of strange all week.  But that's just cuz of stress caused by all the arguments we've been having, right?"

"Except you haven't felt strange like this before, have you?" the Professor asked, they shook their heads, "So it's not stress."  Ever since the girls were seven, they were in perfect health, having developed super immunity systems.  Since then they had no headaches, or dizzy spells, or anything of the sort, and now that he was paying attention, he noticed they did look a little pale.  "Something's definitely not right.  I'm going to have to look into this."

"Aww, it's no big deal!" Buttercup frowned, trying not to sound worried. "Everyone gets headaches.  Maybe it's not impossible for us, just rare."

"Maybe it is no big deal like you say," the Professor said, "but better safe than sorry.  This is too strange to ignore.  After school I want to do some tests OK?"

Buttercup shrugged, "Fine." Blossom and Bubbles seemed curious about why they felt odd, so they had no objections.

"Oh and girls, can you do me a favor?  Please, no crimefighting today, not until I know what's wrong."  The Professor sounded urgent.

While Blossom and especially Bubbles seemed perfectly fine with that, Buttercup wanted to protest.  No way did she want to give up crimefighting, even if it was just for a day.  Sure, it was rare that they were ever needed anymore, but she'd hate it f they got a call and couldn't answer.  But she saw the worry in her over protective father's face and nodded.

As the girls left for school, the Professor shook his head with worry.  There was only one substance in the world he could think of that could possibly make them feel under the weather, even in the slightest.  Antidote-X.  But as far as he knew, he had the only sample and it was locked away.  Even if there was more, how on earth could they have acquired it?

A/N  I hope you all found this chapter satisfactory.  Please R&R!  

**Hairy Gregory: A fist fight between the Powerpuff Girls would definitely be catastrophic if it got out of hand.  Good thing the girls are mature enough to avoid such a disaster.  And yeah, Buttercup when mad doesn't make much sense.  But she's mad and irrational, logic means little.  I hope you're enjoying this!**

**Raskolin**** Phoenix: Your welcome!  Yeah, subtleness is fun.  That was on the borderline of non-existent I admit.   I'm glad you like!**

On a side note, I finally got to see "Woop@$$ Stew", weirdness.  That's all I have to say.  Don't know why.


	5. Progression

A/N Maybe I shouldn't say this here, but I'm not terribly happy with this chapter (I hope that doesn't bias your opinion of this chapter, I'm often critical of my work).  Brief plot summery about this chapter is it's sort of about how Anti-X is beginning to take hold.  Please note that each section is later in the day than the previous.  It seems obvious, but as you read you'll find that Blossom doesn't seem as affected by Anti-X as Buttercup, but that's because her scene takes place in the morning and Buttercup's in the late afternoon.  I just thought I'd share that, so people won't get confused.  Anyway, on with the story!  I hope y'all enjoy it!  Sorry it took a while to update.__

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**Chapter Five: Progression**

Greg Morris saw her in the hallway, she didn't look like the girl he fell in love with. Blossom wore her brilliant sunset locks in a messy ponytail, her posture lacked the confidence she was known for and her face was long and empty. She was walking towards him with Robyn Snyder at her side and they were deep in conversation, Blossom looked so exhausted. After a moment, she noticed him and quickly looked away, slight anger and resentment evident in her expression. He sighed, regretting everything he said to her on Tuesday, even though there was obviously some miscommunication. As they brushed past him, Robyn threw him a sympathetic gaze. He wanted to go after her, and take her in his arms, and apologize and make everything right again. He should've been more supportive. He thought that by taking a break he was doing the right thing, but she was obviously taking it harder than he thought. He turned to follow, but the warning bell rang, and Blossom and Robyn had ducked into their next class. He had to do the same so he turned and picked up the pace, rushing to his next class before the final bell rang. 

*****

"Talk to him," Robyn said to Blossom as the two headed to class, "I know you want to."

"And seem too desperate?" Blossom retorted, "No thanks. I haven't spoken to him at all yesterday, and he's made no effort to talk to me. If he's truly taking a break, like rumor has it, then he should make the first move."

"Are you sure he was trying to break up with you? Do you think it's possible the rumors are true."

"I don't know. The entire conversation we had that night was a blur, but it sure felt like he was breaking up with me, and the way he looks at me, there's this look, it's like he no longer wants to be with me," Blossom sighed. "It hasn't even been two whole days yet, and I miss him like crazy."

"I know," Robyn said sympathetically. She looked up, "Don't look now, but there he is."

Blossom made brief eye contact with Greg, and quickly looked away. All at once mixed emotions of the pain and anger that comes from losing one's first love rushed back into her, and all at once she wanted to cry and tearfully embrace him and make up, but she also wanted to scream at him, and make him know how deeply he hurt her by breaking up with her, and at the same time, she wanted clarification. To the best of her knowledge, even if someone said they should take a break, it was like saying the line, "we should see other people". What if this was some giant misunderstanding? As they past Greg in the hall, Blossom contemplated turning around and asking him how he felt and where they stand in their relationship- it was the most logical thing to do. On the other hand, why should she, shouldn't he be the one asking her how she feels? She didn't know what to do. The warning bell solved her dilemma, there would be no time, class was starting right away. She'd worry about that and everything else later. 

As her trigonometry class went on, Blossom's headache returned. It was mild, but enough to affect her concentration. The fact she never really had one before made it worse, and only added to the list of things to worry about. She hadn't seen the Professor look so worried before, and couldn't recall him ever asking them to refrain from crime fighting. While she had felt strange for a couple of days, she dismissed it as mere stress. She never thought about it being anything else. But when the Professor did remind them that it was supposed to be impossible for them to get headaches, it got her thinking. 

Truth be told, she never thought about it before. She always just assumed that since everyone else gets headaches, or gets the flu or whatever, that she could too, just not as often. Whether they could or not never became a topic of conversation before, if they ever did talk about it, she certainly couldn't remember. Besides, when one is healthy, they never think about being sick and a headache is quite minor in the scheme of things. But it was odd that both Bubbles and Buttercup felt under the weather as well. No wonder the Professor was concerned. If he was concerned, she should be too since the Professor arguably knew more about them physically than they did. He was the one who did their check ups and kept their powers in check, testing them once a year., he knew what they were capable of, and what they couldn't do. He made them after all. He understood their genetic make-up, so he would know if getting sick was possible.

Blossom's thoughts shifted to Bubbles and Buttercup. Thinking about them made Blossom feel terrible. She hated fighting with them, and wished that their stupid conflict could be resolved. Except for briefly that morning, the three sisters hardly said a word to each other. Blossom avoided saying anything to Buttercup especially, afraid that she'd just blow up in her face, bringing forth another argument. They were better off not talking than always in a heated argument.

There was so much on Blossom's mind, that when the bell rang, she realized that she had no idea what happened in class. She had taken no notes, and didn't even know the topic, she was better off not going. Blossom scolded herself for that was the first time Blossom ever failed to pay attention in class, no matter how much was on her mind. 

*****

For a while, Bubbles was feeling much better. After complaining to Sara and Megan that she had a headache, Megan provided some aspirin from her purse. It didn't relieve the strange, surreal feeling, but it did help her mild headache. While the Professor may have overreacted slightly Bubbles felt no need to worry about anything in regards to a mild headache and dizzy spell. While it may not be normal for her and her sisters, she knew the Professor would be able to help them if it was something serious. He was a genius after all. At least now she didn't feel so alienated from her friends who sometimes resented her for being so… perfect. 

That afternoon after lunch however, it got worse. Bubbles had a spare so she and her casual boyfriend Mike Believe were studying in the library, or more accurately, were exchanging various terms of endearment, whispering sweet nothings when Bubbles experienced another dizzy spell, accompanied with a headache of more intensity. Not used to that sensation Bubbles closed her eyes and winced, putting her hand to her forehead. "Whoa," she whispered.

"What's wrong?" Mike asked.

"Nothing," Bubbles sighed, "Just a headache is all."

"Hmm," Mike shrugged. "Did you take anything for it?"

Bubbles glanced at him, "Yeah I took an aspirin earlier today, but it's back."

"Take another aspirin then," Mike replied.

"You can do that?"

Mike looked at her strangely, "Yeah," he said slowly, "If your headache's back, then obviously the aspirin wore off."

Bubbles paused, "Oh! Right!" she exclaimed, feeling rather dumb, "You wouldn't happen to have any would you?"

"Nope," Mike replied. "Sorry."

"That's OK," Bubbles replied, closing her eyes and putting her hands to her head. "Y'know I never really had a headache before, so if I sounded kinda stupid, that's why."

"Really?" Mike raised a brow, "Not even after fighting crime. I would imagine you get them all the time, you know, it looks like a painful job."

Bubbles shook her head, "No, Blossom, Buttercup and I are invulnerable to pain and stuff. Fighting crime doesn't hurt, it's just annoying."

"That's ironic," Mike said. "If fighting crime doesn't cause even minor pain…"

"Well, it does, but it's momentary, it never lingers longer than like a second," Bubbles clarified, trying to will the sharp pain in her head away.

Mike shook his head, "OK, whatever, but it's ironic that you're hurting now more than you do when crime fighting. That must mean something's wrong. Are you OK?

Bubbles nodded, "Yeah. If there is something wrong, then the Professor will be able to take care of it. Whatever it is, he can fix it. It's really not that bad." she winced, it was getting progressively worse.

Mike put his arms around her, "Here," he rose to his feet and stood behind her, massaging her temples, then her shoulders and back. She trustingly closed her eyes and relaxed, letting him do it. "Better?" Bubbles nodded and thanked him. Mike leaned down and put his arms around her, giving her a kiss. "You know Bubbles, I think I'm falling in love with you."

Bubbles looked back at him with surprise, "Really?"

He nodded.

Bubbles stood up and threw her arms around him, "I love you too Mike!" she squealed, then regained herself, remembering they were in the library. The two put their arms around each other and began to kiss, Bubbles was no longer caring about her headache. 

They were interrupted by a voice, "Get a room," Buttercup muttered, coming up behind them.

Bubbles looked at her coldly, "What do you want?"

"None of your business," Buttercup replied, "Excuse me."

Bubbles glared at her, "Excuse yourself."

"Your make out session has led you to get in my way," Buttercup replied, "I need to get a book."

Bubbles looked at the bookshelf they were blocking, "Right. Sorry."

They moved out of Buttercup's way. She momentarily scanned her eyes along the books and grabbed the book she needed, "Later Bubbles," Buttercup waved, not looking at her blonde sister as she left to check the book out. 

Buttercup left the library, flew outside and had a brief flight around the neighborhood, which often relaxed her nerves, then she flew to the bleachers overlooking the football field. It wasn't her normal hang out spot, but since there was nothing going on, it was a good place to be alone for a while. She was missing class, but she didn't care. She didn't feel like going. She didn't feel like doing anything. She didn't know how she felt. 

She found a dark clean spot under the bleachers and closed her eyes. She briefly looked at her book, but the words just seemed to blur together. That morning, she merely felt strange with a mild headache, after lunch she began to feel tired and rather dizzy, and now that she landed, she felt even worse. She felt as though her head was about to explode. She sat in the fetal position and rested her head on her knees, tired and worried. She was afraid that the odd feeling she felt the past two days, which was ignored and brushed off as stress was merely foreshadowing something worse, and as bad as she was feeling it wasn't the worst of it. 

Earlier that day, Buttercup was almost certain that the Professor in his worry was overreacting, especially when he said no crime fighting for the day. But now that she thought about it, she wasn't too sure. No, she wasn't going to worry about it, that would only be admitting weakness. It wasn't a huge deal, whatever it was. Besides, she knew the Professor would be able to take care of things. 

Buttercup opened her eyes briefly, her surroundings were a blur so she closed them again. When she opened them once more, she was surprised to find that she was lying down in an awkward position and Kevin was crouching beside her, nudging her. Had she fallen asleep?

"Hey sleepyhead," Kevin grinned, "Where were you? I missed you in history today."

Buttercup sat up, "I must've dozed off…"

"You know I've been looking for you for half an hour, I was afraid you'd gone home already. I have to say this is the last place I'd expect to find you," Kevin sat next to her. "I thought you hated cheerleading, or is that why you fell asleep?"

Buttercup looked through the space in the bleachers. Sure enough, cheerleading practice was in progress. "Whoa! What time is it anyway?" she checked her watch, it said 4:13.

"Why? How long have you been out here?" he asked, his tone changing to concerned.

"I don't know, about 1:30," Buttercup exclaimed, "I feel like such an idiot!"

"Don't feel bad," Kevin shrugged, "You looked pretty tired this morning."

"Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night," Buttercup said strangely. Falling asleep did manage to help her feel a little better, maybe that was all it was. Maybe she was just tired. She shook her head, that wasn't the problem, and she knew it, so why did she keep denying that it could be something serious?

"See? There you go," Kevin grinned, "perfectly good excuse, nothing to be ashamed of."

"Right," Buttercup sighed, she stretched a bit, feeling uncharacteristically stiff. "C'mon, let's get outta here."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere but here," Buttercup replied, feeling strange and distant. Her thoughts were miles away.

"Well, I for one am hungry, what'd'ya say we go get some grub?" Kevin asked.

"Sure," Buttercup sighed.

"Are you OK?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"You seem down.  Something's on your mind," Kevin nudged her casually, "What is it?"

Buttercup glanced at him, she wanted to tell him the truth of how she was really feeling physically but pride and denial got in the way, "Nothing, just, you know, tired."

Kevin looked at her, not believing her for a second, knowing her too well.  She was carrying herself differently than normal, even when she was down.  Her steps were heavy and slightly staggered and her posture was slouched.  Kevin sighed, deciding to drop the subject.  Something else was wrong, but obviously she wasn't going to share.  She'd tell him when she was ready, she always did.  She trusted him with her life, and vice versa.  

"Listen," Buttercup said, after walking with her best friend in silence for a while, "I think I should get home.  I'll see you tomorrow, OK?"

Kevin nodded, watching her as she flew off.  He bowed his head, worrying about his best friend who was falling in a downward spiral of depression ever since the rift between her and her sisters started.  He couldn't shake off the feeling that their feud was not what was causing her grief that day.  He just hoped that whatever it was wasn't serious.  She needed a break.  Kevin would just do everything in his power to cheer her up, and guide her through her slump just as she did for him when he was going through a rough time.  With that thought, Kevin sighed and headed towards home.

*****

And now ladies and gents for the fantabulous thank-yous!

**Raskolin**** Phoenix: I'm glad you still like this J **

**Hairy Gregory: Yeah, it is a dumb move on the girls' part for not being worried and stuff.  Hopefully this chapter somewhat redeemed their nonchalance (I love that word).  If it didn't well, I got one word my friend, one word and a statement.  _Denial.  Also, it's something the girls never considered, but the Professor, who's over-protective and knows their genetic make-up would be more aware that they weren't capable of illness.  Keep in mind he had to remind them they never had a headache before. Also keep in mind the girls merely assumed that they were just experiencing the physical aspect of stress, like everyone else.  I hope that was communicated in this chapter.  _**

**Raskolin**** and Hairy Gregory_:  How's this for tired?  Right now I just finished directing a play (which was a success yay!) I take tae kwon do four times a week, I work part time, go to college full time, I'm on Student Council, and I'm co-running a drama team.  (I feel like Blossom…except I'm not an over achiever, I'm just over my head this year) Only 2nd week of school and I'm already experiencing burn-out.  Long story short, I'm tired.  Also, don't expect frequent updates because as much as I adore writing, school comes first._**

**Pilfered Sympathy: I'm so glad you like this!  It's nice to have another reader for this story!  I hope it catches on and more read (and review) it because, I may as well share this now, but there will be at least one sequel whether people like it or not ^_^.**

**Bella: Hey thanks for reading!  I'm glad you like, and thanks for reviewing every chapter.  While I admit I don't usually do that, I like it when people review every chapter because I like to know what people think, and I like to know specifically what chapters work, and what don't, and I like to see peoples speculations and stuff, like you gave.  So, thanks!  **


	6. Ponderings

A/N  This is probably the shortest chapter I'll ever write (word count is I think 701).  But I was dying to update, and last week was insane.  (I had only a week to do a 30 minute presentation on Lord of the Rings for my Literature and Film class, and a promotion test for Tae Kwon, on top of everything else, but I think they went well- I broke my first board on my first try in TKD!  I was nervous, so needless to say, I was very happy after that ^_^.)  Anyway, back on topic, I think as short as this chapter is; it works almost better by itself rather than put in as a scene in a longer chapter.  Well, regardless, I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter Six: Ponderings**

Professor Utonium checked his watch. Why, oh why did it have to be this day when the University had to have a crucial business meeting? If he missed the meeting, which was going on longer than planned, his job would be at stake. He was after all only temporary faculty, and they may not hire him on full time. On the other hand, if he put off trying to find out what was wrong with his girls, their lives could be at stake. The Professor was torn. Normally it seemed that finding out what was wrong with the girls would be the obvious choice, they were always more important to him than his career, but he knew, or at least had a pretty good theory what it was, and if that were the case, wherever the source of antidote X was, the damage was done, and let's face it, he needed the job to help him fund his private research. He already figured out in his head what he could do to help them, but there was another problem he had to solve before any treatment could be beneficial. If it was indeed antidote X, it was obviously coming to them in small doses, judging by their symptoms. But where was it coming from? 

Throughout the meeting he pondered where it might be coming from, which was all he could do while stuck in there. Perhaps it was in the atmosphere, and they were breathing the rare antidote X in gas form. He'd have to check the air quality in their home as soon as he could get out of the blasted meeting. Or maybe they were being exposed in some other way, such as food or drink. 

He shook his head; that probably wasn't it. Besides, how would it be possible? Unless… he considered the water supply, but then he remembered the strict security measures Townsville Power and Water maintained, and the water quality was tested frequently. If there was a foreign chemical in the water, he would know. Because of his position at the university, he would be one of the first ones contacted. Of course it wouldn't hurt to check. He added that to his growing to do list.

But the question that invaded his mind which bothered him the most besides where did it come from, especially considering the Professor was the sole owner of the only known sample of antidote X, was who. Who else had antidote X? They would certainly have to be smart enough to know that antidote X was the Powerpuff Girls only physical weakness. Unfortunately, the only ones who knew about it had either moved away long ago, were serving time in prison, or had given up on crime completely. It was possible that those who had given up on crime hadn't really, but with the exception of Princess, none of them had the resources, or smarts to carry it out. It couldn't be Princess because she was on tight surveillance by Townsville police and her father who was tired of bailing her out of jail all the time, besides, she would be breaking parole.  Had one of the villains who moved away moved back? Professor Utonium was giving himself a headache thinking about it.

But that was beside the point. The point was that someone had somehow managed to poison his girls with the only thing capable of harming them. Someone somewhere knew that it was only a matter of time before the Powerpuff girls grew weak enough to be beaten. Most likely they also knew that time was soon. The studies he had conducted on the chemical X and its antidote had shown that once the antidote started taking effect, which sometimes took longer than others, it worked fast. The more antidote X, the faster it worked, although it only took the tiniest sample of the antidote to take on a large amount of the chemical. There was an excellent chance that someone knew this as well. As deadly as antidote X had the potential to be, thinking about the perpetrator who poisoned them, the Professor feared that antidote X might be the least of their immediate worries.

The Professor looked at his watch again. He needed to get home.

A/N And now ladies and gents, the thank yous!

**Hairy Gregory: Don't worry, Blossom and Greg will come around soon and get off their insecure and confused butts and talk.  That will be resolved!  About your other note, I normally don't have that many commitments and this is a culture shock because it's been ages since I've been this busy.  But I find the less time I have, the more I get done.  And don't worry, as busy as I am, I will not forget about and abandon this fic…I hate it when people do that! (Although it's understandable I suppose why some people do)**

**Pilfered Sympathy: Cool.  I like getting reviews, so it's a deal!  Hope you're enjoying it!**

**Raskolin**** Phoenix: Writing relaxes me too, I always find time to write, unfortunately though when I start, I get so caught up in it that it takes so much more time than planned sometimes, so I have to discipline myself to stop (which is hard to do when our minds flooded with ideas galore). Sometimes I start writing something, then I'm shocked to see how much time had past, and stuff I need to do get neglected.  That was my problem last year.  But still, I love to write, that also why I'm an English major.  The girls are in denial, plus they've taken their powers and good health for granted, so that's why they're not that worried…yet.**

**Firestarter10388: Really?  One of the best PPG fics ever? Aww shucks!  Thanks!  Keep the reviews coming!**

And remember, if you're reading, but not reviewing, I beg you to review!  You can do it!  I believe in you, it's not that hard!  I like to know who's reading, and if it's caught on to more people.  Anonymous reviews and constructive criticisms are welcomed too!  Please review!  Thanks!


	7. Revelations

A/N Just cuz it's fun, I thought I'd put the thank yous/acknowledgements in the beginning.  Don't ask me why, I don't know why I do a lot of things…

**Raskolin**** Phoenix: Well, I agree, if it was me, I'd probably worry too, but it's not me.  Another thing to point out, is that they've taken their powers (and the abilities of the Professor) for granted and… we hopefully this chapter redeemed them a bit for their stupidity.**

**Pilfered Sympathy: So glad you like!  **

**Hairy Gregory:Well, suspense wasn't exactly I was going for (OK, sort of) the main purpose of the last chapter was to explain the implications of their situation. (hey, that rhymes…sort of)  Well, even if you don't write a lot, I hope you update Unpredictable Occurrences of Lunacy soon!  I think it's hilarious so far!!**

**OurhomeisNowhere****: Thanks a bunch! ^_^**

**Tamayo****: Thanks!  I was getting afraid that people were finding this dull or frustrating, so I appreciate the compliment!  ^_^**

And remember all you out there who don't review… PLEASE REVIEW!!!  I value each and every one of the reviews I get, they're what keep me going, and are so helpful to me as an aspiring writer.  I am on my knees begging you!!!  I like reviews, they're my friend.  I love constructive criticism, and even if you don't have a lot to say, you don't have to write a lot.  I'd like to see this catch on, and know if there are more than just a few people reading.  And like Raskolin, I sometimes wonder if people are losing interest when people don't review every chapter so… yeah, I'll stop my ranting and get on with the story…

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**Chapter Seven: Revelations **

Buttercup hated herself. She didn't normally leave her best friend hanging like that, and he was only trying to help her feel better. The truth was, she was embarrassed. She was afraid she looked the way she felt, and judging by the sincere concern in Kevin's eyes, she did. But if she stayed, she would have to admit to feeling like crap, and that was something she didn't want to do. She was tough, and she could handle anything that came her way, including illness, whether it's normal or not. So the last thing she needed was her best friend worrying about her. He had enough to worry about. Besides, why worry when you're the toughest fighter there is, and you have a scientific genius for a father that was probably solving the problem at hand that moment? He probably had it solved by now. She and Blossom and Bubbles would feel better in no time. Buttercup was sure of it. 

But still, there was one thing that bothered her, and lingered in the back of her mind. The Professor did ask them to refrain from crime fighting, something they _never_ had to do before. The thought was enough to drive her crazy. What if there was another monster? What if they were needed? Sure, ever since the villains became no longer threatening in one way or another, crime fighting had become a little slow and the odds of even being called were slim, but still… what if? Crime fighting was her _life_; she knew she couldn't blatantly ignore a distress call.

She had never seen the Professor look so worried before. His eyes were desperate when he asked them not to fight crime. That thought bothered her enough to prompt her to push it aside and ignore it, she would not face the thoughts that crossed her mind when she saw the look on the Professor's face. He was just overreacting. He _had_ to be. Buttercup kept telling herself that. They were invincible. 

Of course for someone who was invincible, getting home was beginning to prove trying. She had barely begun to fly away when she felt a wave of lightheadedness hit her. Sharp pain stabbed at her temples and the air increased in density. Buttercup sank lower, hoping it would ease her. She felt much worse than she did before. Her unintended nap did not help her as much as she thought. Flying was supposed to be the best feeling in the world, but for the first time, Buttercup had the sensation that she was falling. Buttercup closed her eyes and tried to will herself to remain in the air, ignoring the pain in her head until she regained control. She opened her eyes again and as much as she didn't want to admit it, decided it would be wise to land. 

She tried to appear as graceful as possible when landing, although there didn't seem to be any grace at all, but once she landed she realized she never felt so relieved to be on solid ground. Buttercup swayed slightly and sat down at a bus stop bench to take a quick break before heading off again. The sooner she got home, the sooner she'd feel better, she told herself over and over. She'll feel like herself in no time. 

Buttercup wearily rested her head in her hands and sighed, waiting until she felt ready to fly again. Not wanting to admit to any defeat, but reaching the point where she felt she had no choice Buttercup reached into her pocket and counted her change for bus fare. Public transit was definitely not her style. The only mode of transportation she preferred was flying, but had to admit it wasn't such a good idea considering how she was feeling. Just as she felt into her pocket a car pulled up.

"Hey Buttercup!" the driver called as the passenger window opened.

Buttercup approached the car and looked inside, "Greg?"

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Buttercup didn't know what to tell him. She certainly wasn't going to tell him the real reason why she was sitting at a bus stop so she shrugged casually, "I was going to ask you the same question."

"I was actually on my way to drop something off at your house, noticed you sitting here, thought I'd stop and say 'hi'," Greg said. "Actually, I want to talk to you too, do you want a ride?"

Buttercup considered it for a moment. She didn't really want to talk to him or anyone especially considering how she was feeling, besides, she didn't want anyone to notice she was feeling weak. But on the other hand, it beat taking the bus which would undoubtedly cause rumors or at least questions she didn't want to answer, and much to her dismay, flying was out. "OK, whatever." She climbed into the car and they headed on their way. "Have you and Blossom worked anything out yet?"

Greg shook his head, "No. Not yet. You know, I wish I never decided to take a break. It obviously hurt her a lot."

"Only because she thought you broke up with her. There was a miscommunication there somewhere." Buttercup said then muttered bitterly more to herself, "She blamed it on me."

"I never wanted to break up. I certainly didn't want her to think I did," Greg sighed.

"So why did you take the break anyway?" Buttercup asked, "You guys always seemed like the perfect couple. What prompted you to do that?" while not her intention, her tone of voice sounded slightly accusing.

Greg grinned slightly, his expression ambiguous. "What has Blossom told you?" Buttercup didn't respond, "Well, to tell you the truth, you aren't going to like it."

"It is me then isn't it?" Buttercup muttered.

"Yes… and no," Greg replied, "I chose to take a break because of the attitude Blossom had developed because of you. You and the conflicts you've been having… Seriously though, I only did it to show some tough love. You two need to resolve things, and I hoped that by putting our relationship on hold would prompt her to take some initiative to make up with you. The relationship between you and Blossom and Bubbles is so much more important than anything. I hate to see her upset, especially for that reason, and I only had her happiness in mind. I just didn't think it would hurt her so much."

Buttercup managed to smile and shook her head, looking away, almost jealous of Blossom, "Oh my goodness you two _are_ the perfect couple," she muttered quietly, "She obviously misunderstood you, or something like that."

"Do you… have you two resolved anything yet?" he asked.

Buttercup shook her head, "No, not really. We haven't been fighting, but we haven't really been talking either." She winced slightly as a sharp surge of pain hit her temples. She put her hands to her head.

"You OK?" Greg asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm just, I don't know, tired. And yeah, I don't like the situation Blossom, Bubbles and I are in… with the fighting that is," Buttercup said, her thoughts still on the pain in her head that was surely affecting Blossom and Bubbles. She didn't want Greg to know about that.

Greg nodded as he pulled up into the Utonium driveway, "Do you think Blossom will be ready to talk to me? She's been acting really strange lately. She wants us to get back together, right?"

Buttercup nodded, "Sure. She loves you. She's been crying a lot you know."

Greg bit his lip, "Really?"

"Look, don't feel guilty, OK? I think it's really neat that you're strong enough to show her this tough love as you call it. It only shows how much you truly care for her. She's been pampered so much by you and everyone, I think she needs a bit of tough love, it's good for her, even if it does hurt. It'll only make her stronger, and I don't know, I think it will only strengthen your relationship in the long run, so don't feel too bad," Buttercup said truthfully, but thinking more about her bed, and how comfortable it was and how much she'd rather be in bed, sleeping off her headache. "Y'know, don't listen to me, I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm the last person you'd want to talk to about love advice. I've never been in love, so what do I know?"

"No, Buttercup. I appreciate it, and I think you might be right," Greg said.

"I hope so. I honestly think you two deserve each other, and belong together," Buttercup sighed, giving him a small weary smile, she opened the door and started to climb out.

"Thanks," Greg smiled, "I never expected this from you."

"Expected what?"

"Such insight… I don't know. You just don't strike me a someone who's very… deep," he replied.

"Thanks?" Buttercup wasn't sure how to take that.

Greg seemed to sense it, "Don't take it the wrong way. I just mean you've always got this wall around you, and you have that tough image and all, this is just a side of you I'm sure few people get to see, and a side I didn't think you had. That was good advice you gave Buttercup. Thank you."

"Anytime," Buttercup shrugged, not really sure if what she said was advice or not, she was just saying what she thought. 

"Before you go, can you give this to Blossom for me?" He reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a pink envelope.

"Sure," Buttercup nodded and with that she left and went inside to see the Professor, Blossom and Bubbles already home. Blossom and Bubbles were looking like they were in better shape than Buttercup, but they were sitting on the couch, looking pretty tired. 

"Thank goodness you're home!" Professor Utonium sighed with relief, rushing over and giving her a hug. "I was so worried, afraid something terrible happened!"

Buttercup tried to find breath, the Professor was hugging her so hard. Obviously he was in the overprotective father mode. "Relax, I'm fine," she gasped, gently pushing him away. "What are you guys doing home?" Buttercup asked her sisters. Bubbles was supposed to have cheerleading, and Blossom should be having her grad committee right now. 

"Mike drove me home," Bubbles said, "I wasn't feeling good. In fact cheerleading only made me feel worse. He's so good to me!" she giggled, obviously not upset about anything, mainly because she had complete faith that everything would turn out OK in regards to their health. Besides, she and Mike were now officially a couple, and her head was in the clouds. 

"I was feeling lousy, so I went home with Robyn," Blossom said with an empty voice, "What's that?" she motioned to the envelope in Buttercup's hand.

"Oh! It's for you! Greg gave me a ride home and had me give this to you!" Buttercup said, trying not to let on how she was really feeling. She nearly lost her balance as she went over to hand it to Blossom but the Professor steadied her, much to her embarrassment.

"Greg was here? He drove you home? Why didn't he come in?" she asked, as she took the envelope. "What was Greg doing driving _you_ home?" Blossom seemed upset.

"Nothing I…"

The Professor interrupted them, before irrationality drove things out of hand again, "You girls can talk about that later. Right now I have something important to talk to you three about. Have a seat Buttercup," he said, motioning to the couch. Buttercup took a seat next to Bubbles, "Before we get into this, Buttercup I'll get you something to relieve your headache, OK?" He went to the kitchen and quickly returned with a pill and a glass of water. "Take it."

"What is it?"

"Aspirin, it won't solve anything, but it will help," he said.

"Believe me," Bubbles said, since she and Blossom already took some, "It will help."

"All right, but I still don't think it's really that big of a deal." she lied trying to convince herself as she swallowed the pill with the water that they still didn't know was contaminated.

The Professor looked at her unconvinced, "You mean to tell me then that you aren't worried?"

"Should I be?" she asked somewhat defiantly.

"Even though you've never had a headache before? Even though it only got worse as the day progressed like I'm sure it did for you too," Blossom added, "I mean, at first I too didn't worry, but come on, the Professor's got a point." 

"Why worry? We can handle anything, remember? Nothing can harm us, right?" Buttercup looked at the Professor who looked solemn. "Right?"

"So what is wrong with us?" Bubbles asked casually, "And how long before we feel better?"

"Girls, this is not something to take lightly, I want to make that clear," the Professor said, trying to be patient, but amazed about how he seemed to be the only one who was thinking clearly. Of course he was still the only one who knew, but he felt that he would be a bit more anxious if he were in their shoes. Blossom seemed the be the only one showing concern, but even that was minor and didn't surface until he pointed out the fact that they indeed hadn't been ill before.

Bubbles' face darkened, "What do you mean? We're unbeatable, and whatever it is you can fix, right?"

"Yeah seriously, what can possibly harm us? Nothing. Except maybe antidote X, but you have the only samp…" Buttercup stopped suddenly as the realization hit. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at the Professor, "You still do have the only sample, right? That can't be what it is."

"I'm afraid so," he said.

"But… you have the only sample of antidote X, that _can't _be it!" Buttercup gasped.

The Professor sighed; he knew that once they found out Buttercup would be the one to take it the hardest for it meant they were losing their powers, something Buttercup always held dear. "The only _known_ sample. That means there could be more out there, undiscovered, unaccounted for, and apparently there is. I don't know where it's coming from yet, but there's nothing else that can do this to you."

There was a moment of silence. Buttercup looked around the room. Blossom seemed to be taking it all in and it was as though a light bulb turned on above her head. She nodded as though everything was falling into place for her, making sense. Bubbles in a way Buttercup found odd, looked as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Buttercup looked to the Professor, the look in his eyes gave her the impression that he was withholding information, and that there was so much more to it than he was letting on. Buttercup closed her eyes and sank in her seat as she realized that her worst nightmare was coming true. They were losing their powers.

Hope you enjoyed that chapter!  R&R!!!


	8. The End of an Era

A/N Hello everyone!  I hope you all enjoy this chapter!  It's a bit long, but I couldn't make it shorter.  

Thanks are in order!

**Pilfered Sympathy**:  Thank you muchly! (x3) I will definitely continue!

**Hairy Gregory**: Hey!  Hook me up with some of that popcorn!  I'm in the mood for a snack! This chapter should explain Bubbles' odd reaction. And to answer your question (or was it comment…) about chemical X, well, this chapter will deal with it early on.  Don't worry, I considered it.

**BluSky229**: Thank you so much for the review and the fantabulous compliment! ^_^

**Raskolin Phoenix**: Not much to say, but thanks for being a loyal R&R-er.  

**PinkPuff514**: Aww!  Thank you so very much for the thoughtful review!  That's one of my favorite kinds of reviews!  And I am so glad you like Buttercup more because of this!  As you may have guessed, she's my favorite!

Anyhoo, here it is folks, chapter 8 in all it's glory!  Please R&R! 

****

**Chapter Eight: The End of an Era**

Sitting in her seat on the couch Buttercup's head was spinning, for more reasons than one. One reason was the newly discovered antidote X in her system, the other was of learning about the antidote X. It couldn't be that, it just couldn't. That was their kryptonite; it was the most obvious explanation, yet the last thing she considered as a reason for the strangeness she and her sisters were experiencing the past few days. She snorted to herself, it was the _only_ explanation. No wonder she denied it so. It was her greatest fear. But for every problem there was a solution.

"Chemical X!" Buttercup exclaimed, "Why am I getting so upset when there's chemical X downstairs in your lab? There! Problem solved!"

The Professor rose to his feet, "No! Not yet, it's too risky. Never use chemical X to reverse antidote X! That's not an option!"

Buttercup sank in her seat, startled, "But why? Why not? It makes perfect sense!" she looked to Blossom and Bubbles for support, but they were silent. She looked at them exasperated and turned back to the Professor, "Well?"

"Both chemicals are unstable. It could work temporarily, but the chances of that are incredibly slim. There's a great chance that the results could be catastrophic. Taking pure chemical X would be suicide- it's too risky," he said, making sure his point was clear. He took a brief pause and then explained the gist of what was happening, and what will happen to them, "The antidote X will eat away at the chemical X in your system until it's gone and then…" he couldn't finish his sentence. He didn't want to say aloud the fact that he feared the most. And then they would die. Chemical X was as essential to them as water. 

"…and then we become normal," Bubbles concluded with a small but satisfied smile. The Professor closed his eyes with shame from letting them come to their own conclusion even though it was the wrong one. He couldn't bring himself to tell them the truth.

Buttercup wanted to scream. She hated the thought of becoming normal. Her superpowers were what made her who she was. "That can't happen!" Buttercup snapped, "There's gotta be something that can be done, right?"

"Perhaps," he replied, "And believe me, I will work on it until I do find a solution. But first I need to find out where it came from, until I do, I won't be able to do much. When we do find out the source, I will need to do some research and maybe find a way to counteract the antidote X."

"Is that possible?" Buttercup asked

"I hope so," he said, "but I need to work fast. There is a point when… when the effects of antidote X can't be reversed."

"When is that?" Buttercup demanded.

"I don't know, and I have no way of knowing," he replied. "There are too many factors to determine. Like how much antidote X you acquired, how much energy you spent, how often you used your superpowers, the smaller you are, the faster it works… the list goes on."

Buttercup felt the urge to hit something. She considered the factors. She used her powers a lot- even after she felt strange, and she was the shortest and smallest sister- which she always hated and found ironic because if someone didn't know she was a superhero, they'd think she was weak- certainly not the toughest fighter. Considering those things though made her worry that she might have already passed the point of no return. What if it was too late for them? What if it was too late for her and not her sisters? The thought angered her because looking at Blossom and Bubbles, they seemed perfectly fine with the thought of becoming normal, in fact Bubbles seemed almost _happy_!

She looked at her sisters with a foreign feeling of loathing, a feeling that didn't exist before they began their fights. But that night the feeling she hated to have seemed more intense than ever.

"Hey, now that it's possible, does this mean I can get my eyebrow pierced?" Bubbles asked, "Megan said it would look so cool on me and she has a nose ring and…"

The Professor looked away, shocked that she could be so nonchalant and clueless, but in her defense Bubbles didn't know the whole story.

Buttercup rose to her feet, "Bubbles! How can you ask such a stupid question at a time like this?! Don't you see what is happening to us?!"

"Yeah," Bubbles replied, "We're becoming normal."

"Which is fine for you isn't it? You guys are perfectly fine with this, aren't you? You guys are perfect anyway, you don't need superpowers to be special! You don't appreciate them! You don't care! You don't care about being superheroes anymore, so why should it bother you?" Buttercup ranted angrily, "You Bubbles have your wonderful art scholarship and the city practically worshiping the ground you walk on, and you Blossom, little miss over achiever of the year with her perfect boyfriend…"

"Ex boyfriend remember?" Blossom felt tears forming at Buttercup's harsh words, "We broke up and thank you so much for bringing it up…"

"Oh Blossom for crying out loud! When are you going to get it through your thick skull? He was taking a break! Get it? It seems that _everyone_ knows this except you because you're too high on yourself to notice it! Read the friggin' note already! He only did it because he adores you and only wants what's best!" Buttercup snapped, a wave of dizziness came upon her and Buttercup fell back onto the couch. She was so angry and upset at her situation, she no longer cared about what she said.

'Oh I see," Blossom hissed, "how do you know all this anyway? Greg and I have problems and all of a sudden he confides in _you_?! You're the reason we're in this mess!"

"Get over yourself and get it through your brain, you're the reason! I'm merely a factor. And the reason is that he loves you dammit! You have the perfect boyfriend and you're too blind to realize it!" Buttercup put her hand to her forehead. "You're just too busy thinking about yourself. You're so selfish!"

"_I'm _selfish? What about you? You're so quick to point out our faults and yet you don't seem to notice your own!" Blossom retorted angrily.

"I'm perfectly aware of my faults thank you very much," Buttercup hissed, "You like to make a point of pointing them out yourself."

"You know I'm sick of your 'poor little me' act," Blossom sighed, "you should just wake up and realize that it's not all about you!"

"See? You're doing again!" Buttercup's voice was shrill.

"Geesh will you two shut up?" Bubbles cut in, her high pitched voice cut off Blossom's reply which was a good thing too since it was not exactly what could be considered appropriate language. "Blossom, maybe you should read the note before you jump to conclusions, and Buttercup, relax!"

"Relax?" Buttercup raised a brow, turning her anger towards Bubbles, "Relax?! How can I relax? Are you seriously so stupid that you don't see what's happening to us?"

"Of course I know what's happening to us," Bubbles protested.

"Apparently you don't," Buttercup replied, "We're losing our powers, our identity. This means, no more flying, no more laser eyes, no more ice breath, no more talking with animals, no more crime fighting, no more…"

"I get it!" Bubbles hissed, cutting her off, "And that is exactly what I've wanted!"

"What?" Buttercup asked. Blossom and the Professor looked at her, not expecting Bubbles to say that.

"For years now this has been my secret desire. To be normal. Sure, for a long time I loved having powers. I loved saving the day, I really did. I love helping people. But the novelty of having superpowers wore off…"

"Novelty? Our superpowers are not a mere…" Buttercup cut in.

"Will you just shut up and let me talk? I've been wanting to say this for forever," Bubbles snapped, cutting her off with authority. She paused for a moment as Buttercup folded her arms, giving her the floor. Bubbles took a breath and changed her angle, "I am a lover, not a fighter. And yet, what do I do? I fight, not because I want to, but because it's my duty. But what do we get out of it? Sure, there's the satisfaction of saving lives, I'm not saying that's not important, but people take us for granted. We get nothing, it's become routine. I'm bored with it. All our lives we've fought crime, saved lives, yet by doing this, all our lives we've seen the worst in people. As much as our friends and family have tried to shelter us from it, by fighting crime, we've seen the evil in people. We we're raised seeing the best, and absolute worst in society. 

"I know once we were needed, but then everyone left, our job was done. Mojo Jojo is gone, Him disappeared, Fuzzy finally got committed, petty crimes get dealt with by the police… Townsville no longer needs us anymore, and yet, instead of living the normal life I want, we're still on duty, fighting the random monster that comes our way. They've trained the police to handle monsters but we still get interrupted from our daily lives to fight. Why should they fight monsters when we're more than capable of doing it for them? Sure saves taxpayers a lot of money. Fighting is not me.

"Being able to fly, being able to talk to animals, it was great. When we were kids anyway. But now, it just alienates me from my friends," Bubbles wiped her tears. Saying what she had been keeping from everyone, saying what was on her mind, it was a great release, so she cried freely even though a moment ago she felt relieved, "I can't relate to them. Sometimes I feel that because I'm not normal I'm on the outside looking in. I may be popular, I may be loved, but really I don't know who my real friends are anymore. Sometimes I wonder if people crowd around me not because of who I am, but what I am- a superhero, a celebrity. I want to live my life they way I want to. I want to go to college, I want to be an artist, I want to get married someday have kids and live a quiet, normal life. I want to be able to walk down the street without a complete stranger saying, 'hey Bubbles, how's it going' like we were best friends and then have them flash a pen to my face and ask me to sign my name.

"These headaches we've been having? They'll pass, I'm sure of it. Everyone else gets them, at least now I can sympathize. Besides, the aspirin works wonders. I've longed for normalcy for years now. So why shouldn't I be happy now that my wish has come true?"

"But it's who we are," Buttercup said quietly, "We're the Powerpuff Girls."

Bubbles put her hand to her forehead and then wiped her teary eyes, "Honestly Buttercup, did you really think we'd be the Powerpuff Girls forever?"

Buttercup narrowed her eyes, and looked at her feet. No. She knew that it wouldn't last forever. She was going to leave Townsville soon anyway, of course they weren't going to be the Powerpuff Girls forever. So then why did Bubbles' words suddenly have such an impact on her that she was speechless? Buttercup realized that it was because a part of her didn't want it to end. A part of her wanted them to be Powerpuff Girls forever, she couldn't allow herself to foresee them ever stop fighting crime, she didn't want to see them ever splitting up even though she was going to play a big part in it by moving away from Townsville. No, she couldn't see _herself _ever stop fighting crime and the split was already happening. They were already breaking apart. 

The truth was, they haven't really been the Powerpuff Girls for almost a year. 

A part of Buttercup welcomed the change, but a part of her wanted to hold on to what once was. Buttercup looked over the room, her anger had died down and she saw Bubbles and Blossom in a new way. Bubbles' words helped her understand the truth, which helped Buttercup realize why they could no longer get along. Blossom and Bubbles longed to move on, while Buttercup deep down wanted to hold on.

The only real reason why Buttercup planned to move away once school was over was partially because of what Bubbles said, they weren't needed anymore. Buttercup loved being a superhero and desired to be where she was needed. But she also wanted to get away because she resented her sisters, she was jealous of them because there was more to their lives that fighting crime, and they were happy; they didn't need to be needed by Townsville. She resented the fact that they weren't going to be the Powerpuff Girls forever and that they were no longer needed. Their existence had become empty and unappreciated and routine. Being a superhero was her life and what brought her happiness, it was a part of her identity. That was no longer true for her sisters. That was probably a big reason why their fights were never resolved. It was probably one of the reasons why their typical sibling arguments evolved into a full blown feud.

After a long silence Bubbles continued, "Buttercup, I know how much having superpowers means to you, but really, it's time to move on, don't you think? We're graduating this year, and this part of our lives is coming to a close. We are not needed anymore, so why deny it and keep fighting? Maybe you could start thinking about your future- you don't seem to have any plans after high school.  It's not the end of the world.  Can't you think of it as a new beginning?"

Professor Utonium had until that moment sat in silence, listening to Blossom and Buttercup fight, listening to Bubbles pour her heart out, all blind and ignorant to the truth. It broke his heart sitting there listening to them, wondering how to break it to them, wondering how to accept it himself. "Girls, you don't seem to understand," he blurted, unable to let the girls be deceived any longer, "If antidote X indeed does manage to eat away at all of the chemical X in your system, you will die."

"What?" Blossom asked, as her sisters gaped at him, wondering if they heard him correctly.

"Chemical X is the very essence that created you. It sustains you, and if it's too late to reverse the antidote X, you will eventually succumb to it and die," he explained. 'I am so sorry. I would've told you sooner, but I didn't know how. But believe me, I will work day and night, doing everything in my power to prevent that from happening."

Suddenly everything Bubbles said seemed meaningless to her. She shook her head with guilt in her eyes, "No. No you can't be serious! It's not supposed to be like that. This is supposed to be a dream come true… not this!"

"I'm afraid it is sweetie," he said, "But I won't let that happen."

Blossom wrinkled her brow, "How long d…do we have?"

"I have no idea," Professor Utonium replied, "There are too many things to consider. There are ways to slow it down considerably. No more physically strenuous activities, don't use your superpowers anymore. The more you use them, the faster it'll work. I trust I'll find the source of the antidote X tonight, and I think I should be able to come up with a way to slow it down even more. If I can buy enough time, I think there's a slim chance I can prevent it completely. However, I doubt I'd ever be able to restore your powers."

"So what now?" Buttercup asked. The last sentence he said bothered her more than the dying part. She took quick shallow breaths through her nostrils, trying to restrain herself, wanting to scream.

"Well, you can't fight crime anymore- that would be suicide. You can't use your powers anymore although I'm sure you'll have them until almost the very end, albeit they will be very, very weak. It will get to the point where you won't want to use them anymore anyway; it'll drain you of too much energy and intensify your headaches," Professor Utonium sighed, "You can't tell anyone. If anyone asks, tell them you've overused your powers and are taking a break. Blossom, I'd like you to call Mayor Bellum this so she won't call you anymore. We can't let this information get in the wrong hands. It scares me enough to know that someone out there already knows."

"People are going to find out eventually anyway," Blossom said, "Why not just tell them. The public should know." 

"The crime rate may have dropped drastically, but it's because of the power you have over the protection of Townsville. You've made a lot of enemies," Professor Utonium said, regretting ever allowing them to become superheroes in the first place. "They will find out eventually I know, we can't deny that, but we can prevent it as long as we can. So please keep this a secret."

Buttercup wanted to shut out everything she heard, she closed her eyes, doing everything in her power to keep from going crazy, wanting desperately to scream. Neither of them seemed to know how to react.  They had never had to face mortality before.  Because of that, they couldn't seem to fully grasp the concept.  After being invincible for most of their lives, even then, the idea of physical vulnerability was beyond them.  

After a while, Bubbles was had been sitting in her seat quietly looked at Blossom and Buttercup and her blue eyes watered and she began to cry. Blossom looked at the pink envelope still in her hand unopened. She opened it up and read it, tears falling down her cheeks. She held the envelope to her chest and broke down into choking sobs that was mixed with laughter; a small but broken and comfused smile was on her face. Professor Utonium rose to his feet and embraced Blossom and Bubbles  to comfort them and dry their tears, but he needed comfort himself. He too broke down and cried, he outstretched his arm and invited Buttercup, the only one with dry eyes, to join them but she shook her head. She had to get away. She had to be alone. She slowly rose to her feet and went to her room and started to beat on her punching bag.

It was official.  The Powerpuff Girls were no more.

Please all you silent readers out there… review!  It's so easy!  You don't have to say much, just let me know what you think! All you have to do is click on the "go" button next to "submit review"!  Thank you muchly!


	9. Clarification

A/N This chapter wasn't supposed to exist.  More than one of you brought up a very good point about how the girls were exposed to antidote X in the past.  I originally had a brief explanation about that mentioned last chapter but I edited out due to length, thinking that it wasn't really necessary.  I was wrong.  But this did provide me an opportunity to have a more detailed explanation about that and give Buttercup and the Professor some one-on-one time.  There's not enough of that in general.  It's also important to note that I know squat about chemistry, so I hope it doesn't seem obvious, and I hope it makes some sense.

**Chapter Nine: Clarification**

Later that night Buttercup lay in bed tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep despite how tired she was. Her mind was restless and her muscles and head ached. She wanted to get away. She needed to get away. She needed to fly. She needed to soar through the sky, proud and free. She wanted to fight monsters, fight crime, be a hero. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, but if she did so, that would prove her weakness. She had to be strong. If not physically, then she needed to remain strong emotionally. She was tough. She could handle anything that came her way, including antidote X. She did it before.

Buttercup sat up quickly. Huh? Where did that thought come from? Buttercup closed her eyes and remembered. They were exposed to antidote X in their first year of existence. She climbed out of bed, staggered at bit then quietly checked on the Professor. He wasn't in his room so she gathered he was probably still busy at work. She carefully headed downstairs, clutching the banister to keep her from falling over with dizziness. The light was still on in his lab. She knocked on the door quickly and excitedly before entering; her mind filled with hope. She hoped that it was indeed a memory, and not just something her mind made up to fill her with false hope. Maybe the Professor, like her and surely like her sisters forgot about the incident that happened twelve years ago.

"Professor? Weren't we exposed to anti-" Buttercup stopped suddenly as she saw the Professor. He was at his desk, pencil in hand, papers scattered, his whiteboard was filled with equations and stuff she couldn't understand, and he sat at his desk, fast asleep. She went over to him and sat down on the extra chair and nudged him. "Hey, Professor?"

He snorted but did not wake. She nudged him again.

"Yo, Professor?" she raised her voice. "Come on, it's time to get to bed, you've been working hard enough." Finally, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Buttercup? What are you doing here?" he asked, looking at the clock which said 3:17 am.

She smiled a small smile, "I can't sleep, and I had a question to ask you, but I'll ask you tomorrow, right now you should get to bed, OK?"

"What is it?" he asked.

She hesitated.

"Come on, you can ask me. Obviously it's important if you wanted to ask me at this time of night."

"Only because I thought you'd still be awake busy at work, but you're not, you're tired and you've been overworking yourself. Even before this antidote X crap came along," Buttercup replied.

"Buttercup, just ask the question," he insisted.

She was doubting herself. Maybe she had dozed off and only dreamt that they were once exposed to antidote X. But then she decided it didn't hurt to ask, "OK, Professor, when we were little, weren't we exposed to antidote X? Or am I imagining things?"

Ptofessor Utonium closed his eyes, "Yes, yes you were. When you were in your first year, not yet completely developed as little girls, Mojo Jojo sprayed you with antidote X."

Buttercup grinned, with an almost Bubbles-like squeal she exclaimed, giving him a hug, "Great! Problem solved, right? What did you do then, because obviously we recovered…We'll just do what you did then!"

He pushed her away and positioned her to face him, holding her shoulders gently, "Buttercup, there are a few things you need to understand. One, you were still developing. Physically, you were not complete as little girls, you still hadn't developed noticeable fingers, or noses or toes and such- you were still physically catching up with the rest of the kids your age. The chemical X in your system was also still developing and growing which is why some of your super abilities came later.  It took Bubbles a few months to develop her special power, Blossom a little bit longer, and you almost a year to develop your special talent. It took two years to develop super immunity systems and it wasn't until you hit puberty that you became as everyone declared, invincible…"

"I don't understand what that has to do with anything, if we were weaker then, why were we able to overcome antidote X?"

"I'm getting to that," Professor Utonium said, "You see, up until you reached puberty, the chemical X cells were growing, multiplying. But now they've stopped multiplying- they didn't decrease, but they stopped growing. Back then, because of that, they stood a fighting chance of overcoming antidote X… but now…"

"But that makes no sense!" Buttercup exclaimed, "We're stronger now!"

"That's just it, you became stronger to everything else, but as you grew, the more powerful antidote X became. Not from the antidote itself, but because the chemical X in your system stopped multiplying," he explained, "and another factor to consider about that incident is well, really the most important factor: it was how you acquired the antidote X. Then, you acquired it through touch, it was sprayed on you, the effects though drastic, were temporary. All you had to do was wash it off thoroughly and take it easy for a day. This time though, I believe you consumed it which affects things greatly."

"How?" Buttercup asked.

The Professor shook his head, "I don't know. I've tested all the food we have in this house that we've had over the past few days, I've tested the quality of air, I've tested the water, I've checked everything in this house. So unless it's coming from something at school… Quite honestly, I'm baffled."

Buttercup nodded absorbing the information. "This really sucks." That was an understatement. The news had shattered her hopes.  It was all she could to keep herself from screaming and throwing things, but she had to restrain herself. She couldn't let him worry. She couldn't do that.

"I know," he said sympathetically, "And I won't rest until I find a way to stop this. I've been reviewing the research I've done in the past on the subject and I'm determined to find a cure. I won't let anything happen to you, not if I can help it."

"What about our powers?" Buttercup asked. She had enough faith in the Professor to believe that he would indeed find a cure. "When can I go back to crime fighting? Isn't there anything you can do about that?"

"Honey, it's all I'll be able to do to make keep it from… from killing you. It'll be hard, and as of now, it's not possible. If…I mean when I find a cure, I don't think I'll ever be able to restore your powers to their full extent. I can try, but I doubt it," Professor Utonium wiped a tear from his eyes. He used to think it foolish, to see a grown man cry, but when he saw his girls, his angels suffering he found the tears came easily. He discovered it to be a great release of tension and he wanted to break down again right then and there, but he had work to do.

Buttercup shifted her gaze to the floor and then to the tempting beaker of chemical X in the cabinet. It seemed so easy, so obvious. She still couldn't understand what the big deal was about chemical X and antidote X; she didn't understand how it could be dangerous. She didn't understand how Professor Dick, the one adversary they faced when they were very young that still haunted her memories once in a while, turned into such a monster when he took chemical X and yet she and her sisters came into being because of it. It didn't make sense. None of it did. But then again chemistry was one of her worst subjects so what did she know? But still… why not take chemical X? She shook her head. She trusted the Professor's judgment, _he_ knew what he was talking about- she didn't. She may be foolish sometimes, but she wasn't stupid.

"Anything else you wanted to talk about?" Professor Utonium asked.

Buttercup shook her head.

"OK, then perhaps you should get to bed. It's late and you do have school tomorrow," he sighed,

"Do we have to go?"

"I'm afraid so," he replied, "We don't want to let the public know- yet. If you don't go, it'll arouse suspicion. If you girls just take an aspirin and take it easy, you should still be well enough to go."

Buttercup sighed, she wanted to argue that it would arouse suspicion if they did go and were seen looking like pathetic invalids, but she decided it wasn't worth it. It sucked too. She hated school and finally an excuse not to go (without skipping) and she had to go anyway. "Maybe you should get to bed too Professor. You need to rest as well, and it's been scientifically proven you're less productive when sleep deprived," Buttercup said with an ironic smirk.

"Thank you Einstein," Professor Utoium smiled dryly. "But you've got to realize I don't have time to rest."

"You don't have time to make yourself sick either. Come on, you're exhausted. Even before this has happened, you've been working too hard. Get some sleep, and you'll be way more productive."

The Professor thought a moment, "Very well, you've got a point."

"Thank you," Buttercup replied.

"But I think you'd better heed your own advice, especially now that your health is poor," he looked solemn as he thought about it. His tired eyes were watering up again.

Buttercup's lower lip quivered slightly but she put her chin up and shook her head, pushing her emotions back in. "Well then, good night Professor." she rose to her feet but quickly experienced a head rush. Startled, she swayed and lost her balance but the Professor quickly jumped up and caught her and steadied her. Embarrassed she leaned into him for support until the feeling passed.

"You OK?" he asked concerned.

Buttercup smiled, trying to seem nonchalant, "Yeah, I guess I'm just not used to that sensation. It's really weird. Well anyway, g'night."

"Night," he gave her a hug. "I'm just going to clean up a bit."

"OK," with that she headed upstairs closing the door to the lab behind her.

Professor Utonium sank down into his chair, shaken. From his point of view it looked as though Buttercup had nearly passed out on him. That terrified him. And yet, typical Buttercup tried to remain cool about it, and tried not to make him worry. But that was an impossible task. The Professor was a worrier to begin with and his girls were his reason for living sometimes. He couldn't lose them. He had intended to follow Buttercup's wise advice, but after seeing his toughest daughter almost faint, he realized he needed to think of something soon. Even if it was only temporary to buy time. There wasn't enough time to sleep. He needed to get back to work.

As he reviewed his calculations he began to scold himself for dozing off. His mind raced as he filled them with negative what ifs and worst case scenarios, and how it was his own fault for abandoning his research on chemical X and it's antidote a few years back. He scolded himself for taking their powers and super abilities for granted as well, which was why he put his research aside. His overtired, overworked and overprotective mind was driving him crazy. With a frustrated cry he banged his fist on his desk and cried. After a few minutes he regained himself and went back to work. He worked until his eyes could no longer stay open and he once again dozed off.

A/N The action will begin to pick up in the next chapter or two.  

**Pilfered Sympathy**: Yeah, their superpowers did sometime get in the way of a normal childhood.  I think the episode "Super Friends" was especially poignant in conveying that.  

**Cmd1**: Thanks for the review!  I'm so glad you like it!  And don't apologize; you don't have to say a lot.  I appreciate any review! (except flames ^_^)

**Hairy Gregory**: So yeah, I guess this chapter is partially dedicated to you because you pointed out the 'flaw' in the last chapter.  Did it clear things up?  I hope so anyway.  And the show never does show the girls ever taking more chemical X (as far as I know) but it's a safe assumption about the episode.  

**PinkPuff514**: I have to admit I was happy with the way I portrayed Bubbles and Buttercup's personalities in the last chapter ^_^!!  Keep it up with the reviews!  I appreciate them so much!  


	10. Now What?

**Part Two: Losing Power**

**Chapter 10: Now What?**

The next day was a strange one for the Utonium family. They all slept in that morning which wasn't normal, since Blossom and the Professor were both morning people and could easily be counted on to wake Bubbles and Buttercup up in the morning. Once they were up, the Professor decided to call in sick so he could continue working on finding a cure. He said he was coming close to a temporary solution at least- anything to buy them time. But it was hard for the girls to act like everything was fine and convince everyone that nothing was amiss. A lot of people didn't notice anything and if they did, they didn't say anything, the challenge was the close friends- especially Robyn. 

"Hey Bubbles," Robyn sat down next to her sunny friend during lunch despite the snooty glares from Megan, Sara and Jennifer who were sitting with her.

"Hi," Bubbles sighed. For the first time since she could remember she would rather be eating lunch alone than surrounded by her closest friends. At the same time though she longed for the company of Mike, so she could rest her head on his chest and fall asleep cuddling in his arms. She wearily scanned the room with her bright blue eyes, hoping to spot him. Bubbles sighed, she spotted Buttercup sitting alone at a table in the corner looking miserable, after a moment Buttercup downed her drink and stormed out of the caff, avoiding any gaze that may come her way. Even though she did nothing wrong, Bubbles felt guilty for the mere reason that she had secretly wished to be normal.

Bubbles friends resumed their conversation but Bubbles, who wasn't really part of the conversation that day looked down at her plate. Robyn looked at Bubbles intently, "Everything OK?" she asked. "You were late for class this morning, and you seem kinda down."

"Yeah, I'm just… I don't know, tired," Bubbles sighed.

"You look tired," Robyn nodded, "Did you guys fight again last night? Were you up late because of it?"

Bubbles shook her head, "Yeah but that's not why I'm tired."

"Anything I can do?" Robyn asked, knowing something was wrong other than lack of sleep. She didn't want to press the matter too much, but wanted to help.

With a sigh Bubbles shrugged. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" Robyn asked gently.

Bubbles looked at Megan, Sara and Jennifer who were deep in conversation about the shallow subject of clothes. She turned to Robyn and shook her head. Bubbles didn't know what she wanted to do. She wanted to at least tell Robyn what was really wrong, or Mike, but she knew she couldn't. The Professor was dead serious about them keeping quiet as long as possible. She understood why, but Robyn was more than trustworthy. But then there was the danger of someone listening. 

She spotted Mike coming into the cafeteria and rose to her feet. She swayed slightly but recovered quickly, "I gotta go." she said rushing towards him.

Robyn watched Bubbles rush up to Mike and give him a huge hug and kiss. Robyn sighed and looked at her present company. She rolled her eyes and left.

Bubbles buried her face in Mike's shoulder.

"Sweetie what's wrong?" Mike asked, kissing her forehead. Bubbles looked as though she was about to burst into tears at any moment.

"Nothing," she said, "I just missed you."

"But it's only been an hour since I saw you last," Mike said.

"Yeah but that was in class so that doesn't count," Bubbles smiled, looking him in the eye. She snuggled close to him again. "I love you Mike." she began to cry.

"Come on, let's go somewhere private, where we can talk, OK?" Mike suggested. 

"I don't want to talk, just please hold me," Bubbles begged as they left the cafeteria, if they were to talk about it, she would either be forced to lie to him, or reveal her secret which was out of the question at the moment. Mike nodded giving her a tight, but gentle squeeze.

Meanwhile Blossom sat in the library working on her biology assignment. As she worked however she debated just giving up. She was the top of the class, so her grades wouldn't suffer. What was the point in working so hard when all her dreams were going to go down the drain? If they were going to die soon, why bother? She should spend this time enjoying herself. She looked at the pink envelope which contained the letter from Greg. She had avoided him all day even though she wanted to talk to him so badly. She should be with him, his letter should've made her happy, it confirmed what she had hoped. But considering her present situation, it only confused her even more. 

She took it out and read it again. "There's no one else I'd rather spend my life with. I love you, with all my heart." she read that line in his letter over and over. After dating for four- almost five years, neither of them could ever imagine being with anyone else. She could see herself marrying him, having kids and growing old with him, and somehow that line made her only realize that it was not meant to be. Unless the Professor found a cure, which didn't look likely, she would die and that dream could never be realized. Perhaps that was why she avoided him. She toyed with the idea of breaking up with him, to ease the pain he would feel when the inevitable happened. But she wanted to be with him, and if she were to die, she'd want to spend her remaining time on Earth surrounded by family and friends, especially Greg.

There was another reason to avoid him. How could she keep that a secret from him? How could she not tell him she was slowly being drained of something so crucial to her survival?

But then Blossom's optimistic side was telling her that there's still a chance. She didn't know how long she and her sisters had, for all she knew it could be years. And the Professor was a genius, he wouldn't stop until he found a cure. There was still hope. Her optimistic side was just as strong as her pessimistic side and Blossom shook her head, confused. She didn't know what to do.

Buttercup stormed out of the cafeteria and outside into the warm May sun. She took a seat on one of the bleachers and looked up into the blue sky. She longed for an afternoon flight around the city, but trying that would only kill her faster. On the other hand, she considered the thought that she may as well go out in style, doing what she loved. She always envisioned herself dying in the midst of battle- perhaps from some fatal wound that she finally succumbed to moments after she defeated her foe. If she could choose how she died, that would be it. So what was the big deal if she went for a quick flight, maybe even hunted down the bastard who poisoned them. She would rather die than quit fighting crime and lose her powers for good. At least if she did that she would be the first one to go and not have to endure the loss of her sisters.

The thought of her sisters knocked her back to her senses. She couldn't do that to them. As much as they couldn't stand each other, they needed each other, especially now. They would be devastated if she went on an unnecessary suicide mission and what if the Professor did find a cure? Besides, she had no idea who the culprit was. If she knew she would hunt them down, regardless the consequences. She knew herself well enough to know that she wouldn't be able to restrain herself if the perpetrator was discovered. They had after all committed two mortal crimes. One being that they threatened, and successfully harmed her and her sisters, the second being that they threatened and may have succeeded in taking away her prized possession: her powers. "They better hope that they're never discovered, at least not as long as I'm still alive and kicking butt," Buttercup muttered, "I'll kick their ass. Powers or no powers." She rose to her feet and sat back down at the onslaught of another dizzy spell. "Damn it!" she cursed, putting her hand to her forehead. Frustrated she tried again and stormed off, not knowing where to go, longing for the solace of the clouds where she could give a good scream that no one would hear.

Meanwhile a shadowy figure followed her outside and lurked under the bleachers. He had been watching her and her sisters for the past few days, watching their health very slowly but surely deteriorate, waiting until the time was right. He chuckled at her idle threat which was so typical for Buttercup; he himself felt her wrath many times. This time however he felt confident that it would be different now that the tables had turned. "Is that so Buttercup?" he mused, "You'll kick my ass, when you can hardly stand up without feeling the effects of the antidote X that I gave you? I can guarantee in your state, you will lose. All of you. I will win. I will be victorious. Revenge will be sweet." 

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! 

**Pilfered Sympathy: **Signal in the sky-o, that's when you know that you have to fly-o! LOL!

**Kathryn: **Hey, I want to give you a special thanks. I really did appreciate the detailed CC. Like I said, I understand squat about chemistry… and biology for that matter. I hope it's not too contrived and you can bear with me. Thanks again!

**Hairy Gregory:** I didn't even take chemistry and I didn't really consider about the biology aspect, but I think they sorta fit together anyway in the last chapter even though I failed to blatantly mention biology. Anyway, I'm relieved that you find it plausible/possible/probable/some other word starting with "p" ^_^. There's enough RRB resurrection fics, we don't need to clutter the fic-waves with PPG resurrection fics! (at least not in _this_ story)

**PinkPuff514: **Glad you noticed the water thing. I don't know why exactly I put that in, except maybe to complicate things. Thanks for the review!

**Serena: **Thanks! ^_^

**Dooly: **For me, stories where the girls are grown up are a hit and miss. Sometimes it's necessary (ie dark themes, romances etc don't always work when they're 5). For this, there's no way it would work if I didn't age them because one of the primary themes in this is dealing with the shift from youth to adulthood, and going into the next phase of life. Anyway, I'm glad you decided to read this and like it!

**FireStarter10388: **Thanks for the review! Not much else to say.

**Powerpuffed****: **Thanks for the review! PPG rock!


	11. Calm Before The Storm

**Chapter Eleven: Calm Before the Storm**

That evening, the Professor was still hard at work. Blossom came down to the lab and joined him, "How's it coming Professor?"

"I am getting there," he replied, "I am so close to finding a temporary solution. I think by tonight I'll be done, I just need to figure one thing out."

"But only temporary?" she asked.

"Yes. A total cure will be difficult and will take a long, long time. But what I'm coming up with will renew your strength a little bit and maybe relieve you from the headaches you girls have been having. It will hopefully slow down the antidote X considerably, maybe even put the symptoms to a standstill and buy us a lot more time than we have at the moment," he said anxiously. "Provided we find the source of the antidote X anyway…"

"Any luck with that?" Blossom asked.

Professor Utonium shook his head, "No. I've checked everything I could think of. But what I'm working on now has been moved to top priority, because even with more antidote X exposure, it would hopefully slow down its effects."

Blossom slowly nodded. She felt a sharp stab of pain in her temples and groaned, shielding her eyes from the light in the lab that suddenly seemed too bright for her. Professor Utonium glanced her way, "Go take another aspirin."

"I did just an hour ago. I can't overdo it with the stuff," Blossom complained, "It doesn't seem to work very well anymore."

"Go ahead and take another one. Hopefully by later tonight you won't need it as much anymore," he said worriedly. 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes, sometimes I need to take two. It's OK," he said. Blossom nodded and rose to her feet. The Professor gently steadied her as she stumbled slightly. Blossom gave the Professor a hug and began to cry. "Blossom?"

"Professor, I'm so confused," she cried, "I just don't know what to do anymore!"

"Don't worry sweetie, it's going to be fine," he soothed. "I'm confident I'll be able to help you and your sisters."

Blossom shook her head, "No, it's not just that. I believe in you Professor. But I don't know what to do about Greg, about life…"

"Have you two patched things up yet?" Professor Utonium asked.

Blossom shook her head, "No, not yet. I mean, he wrote me a letter. It's the sweetest, and most beautiful letter too…"

"Then what's the problem?" the Professor asked. The phone started to ring but stopped on the second ring.

"I don't know," she sighed, wiping her eyes, "I love him, I want us to get back together, but in the back of my mind I worry about what would happen if we got back together and you couldn't save us? How would he feel? Wouldn't it spare him more pain if we weren't together? I just feel so confused. And what if everything I've worked hard to achieve, are in vain. All my hopes and dreams, down the drain… everything I've planned…I've worked so hard, but is it all for nothing? I want to be with Greg, but this antidote X thing complicates things so much I don't know anything anymore!" Blossom spoke frantically and quickly, pouring out what was on her mind.

"Blossom, breathe," Professor Utonium said, giving her a hug, "it's going to be OK." 

Bubbles peeked into the lab, "Blossom, phone. It's Greg."

"What do I do?" Blossom sighed.

"You can't avoid the one you love too long," Professor Utonium said, "Talk to him, it'll be all right.  It will make you feel better, and I want you to be happy."

Blossom nodded, "I'll take it upstairs." she slowly made her way up the stairs and picked up the phone in the family room. "Hello. Greg?"

Bubbles hung up the kitchen phone where she answered at the sound of Blossom's voice on the other end. Bubbles took another aspirin and checked her reflection in the mirror. She and Robyn had made plans to hang out and Bubbles invited Mike to join them while they watched TV. She didn't care how she felt, so long as she was with Mike. She couldn't wait to get all comfy on the couch watching movies, snuggling in his arms. He was her first serious boyfriend and the thought of being near him was comforting considering all that was happening.

The doorbell rang and Bubbles answered it hoping it was Mike, so she was kind of disappointed when she saw Kevin. "Oh, hey Kevin," Bubbles said.

"Is BC in?" he asked.

"Yeah," Bubbles nodded, "Hey Buttercup! Kevin's here!" she called. When there was no reply she turned to Kevin, "Just a sec, I'll go get her." She headed upstairs clutching the banister for support feeling slightly dizzy again. Kevin noticed and eyed her curiously.

Bubbles knocked on Buttercup's door, "Hey can I come in?"

"No." Buttercup replied.

"Kevin's here," Bubbles said.

Buttercup opened the door, "Can you tell him I had to cancel?"

Bubbles shook her head, "Oh no, you are not doing this again."

"Doing what?"

"Oh come on Buttercup, get a life!" Bubbles hissed.

"Considering the circumstances, I don't think it's a good idea. I mean, what's the point, we're dying remember?" Buttercup snorted.

"All the more reason to go out and get off your sorry ass and have fun. You've been locking yourself in your room and pitying yourself long before antidote X came into the picture. Besides, the Professor will figure something out. He's got to," Bubbles' voice trailed off. He has to. He will. He won't let anything happen to them. Bubbles shook her head, "Anyway, it's a miracle that you still have at least one friend the way you push everyone away."

"Oh what do you know?!" Buttercup snapped, "Miss popularity. 'I just want to be normal'." Buttercup mimicked her voice, "Well, your wish came true, are you happy?" Bubbles cringed at her words, fighting tears. Buttercup knew her words were unfair and uncalled for, but she didn't care. "I don't push Kevin away, he's the only one in this whole stupid world I can count on. I just don't feel like doing anything!"

"You never feel like doing anything!" Bubbles frowned. "It worries me to see you so reclusive. You need to get out more."

"Fine," Buttercup sighed, she glanced outside. It was starting to get cloudy. "But for your information," she said, putting on her black hoodie with a green Celtic knot design, "I like being by myself. It helps me think. It's better than wasting my time with people who will only stab me in the back."

"Not everyone will do that," Bubbles said.

"Easy for you to say," Buttercup said, "You've never been betrayed. Yet."

"My friends would never…"

"Define friend. I'll bet you that your fellow cheerleading friends are going to ditch you the moment they find out you had to quit the team," Buttercup said. "They hardly gave you the time of day until you joined the team. Remember?"

Bubbles sighed, "Let's not talk about this right now. You go have fun. Try it you'll like it. Staying at home by yourself and moping isn't going to help things get any better. We should be surrounding ourselves with friends and family right now, not locking ourselves in our room and hiding from our problems. Besides, you two made plans, it won't hurt to stick to them. Who knows maybe by the time you get home the Professor will have a solution. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to finish getting ready for Mike."

"Mike? I thought Robyn was coming over," Buttercup raised a brow, "Weren't you going to have a girls night out or something like that?"

"Oh yeah, I invited Mike to join us," Bubbles said.

"And Robyn's OK with this?" Buttercup demanded.

"I haven't told her yet, but she's my best friend so I don't see why not," Bubbles shrugged.

Buttercup rolled her eyes and gave her a strange look, "OK, whatever you say."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bubbles frowned.

"Nevermind." Buttercup shook her head. "Ciao." She grabbed her bag and headed on her way.

Bubbles shook her head with a frown. What did Buttercup know anyway?

"Oh, and Bubbles?" Buttercup stopped.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for the advice," Buttercup managed a smile, "If the Professor does by some miracle figure something out before I get home, call me OK?"

"I will," Bubbles nodded.

Kevin and Buttercup headed out the door. "Wow, you're dad actually let you borrow the car?" Buttercup asked as she climbed into Mr. Daily's old rusty tin can he called a car. Mr. Daily never let Kevin borrow the car. Ever.

Kevin shrugged, "No, but he won't know or care. He's spending the night at his girlfriend's and she's got a nice little SUV. I honestly don't know what she sees in him. I know what she sees in her though." He seemed nonchalant, but there was an undertone of bitterness and disgust.

"Could it be money? Sex?"

"All of the above?" Kevin added. "She's married you know. Maybe that's why she's attracted to him. Just to be rebellious and dangerous or some crap like that."

"I said it once, I'll say it again," Buttercup put her hand on his knee, "Just say the word and I'll kick his butt."

"Forget it," Kevin shook his head, "He's not worth the energy."

"You are," Buttercup said. Kevin smiled at that.  Buttercup continued, "At least we'll be graduating soon," Buttercup grinned, "Then you can move out when you go to college and never have to see him again."

Kevin took a while to reply, "No, I can't do that."

"Can't do what?"

"Move out. He needs me. I can't do that to him."

"But why? Look how he treats you!"

Kevin shrugged, "He's family. He's all the family I got. He wasn't like this before my brother left, and mom died. I am all he's got."

"I miss your mom," Buttercup sighed, sounding nostalgic. Kevin's mother was killed in an accident three years ago. 

"Me too," Kevin nodded thoughtfully. "Every day."

"She was a great woman. She was like my mother too. I looked up to her as a mother, the mother I never had anyway," Buttercup sighed. There was a long awkward silence as they pulled up into the theatres. Buttercup bit her lip and looked as though she was at battle with herself.

"BC?"

"Kevin, there's something I have to tell you," Buttercup said, motioning him not to get out of the car just yet. She had to tell him their secret, the truth. She couldn't keep quiet; if she did she would go crazy. She needed to be able to talk about it with someone she trusted.

"What's that?"

"But, you have to keep quiet. You can't tell a soul," Buttercup continued, "Not until it's time. I mean if this got into the wrong hands…"

"Is everything OK?" Kevin asked. Buttercup looked so torn and hurt.

"I'm… I mean we, er, my sisters and I, we're losing our powers," Buttercup blurted.

"You're what?! You've got to be joking!" Kevin said.

"I wish I was…" she sighed, "Well, we're not losing them completely. We'll still have them, but they're useless. They drain us of our energy and they're only growing weaker. You know what that means. No crime fighting ever again."

"I am so sorry BC. I know how much having powers and being able to fight crime means to you," Kevin said.

"Please don't tell anyone," Buttercup begged.

"Don't worry. You know me. I don't blame you for having to keep it secret for as long as you can lest the wrong person finds out," Kevin nodded. "How though? I thought losing your powers was impossible."

"Antidote X."

"Seriously?" Kevin shook his head, "How?"

"Good question," Buttercup sighed. Kevin reached over and gave her a hug. Buttercup returned the hug, embracing her best friend. 

"Is this why you avoided me lately?" Kevin asked. Buttercup nodded. Kevin gave her a squeeze, "It'll be OK. I don't know what I can do, but you can count on me. It's times like these we need to lean on each other. Right" Buttercup only nodded.

They hugged for a moment until Buttercup suddenly grinned, not wanting to get emotional, "We're starting to get sappy so what do you say we go watch a movie?"

"Yeah," Kevin smiled sheepishly. He gave her a quick punch on the shoulder, "C'mon." As they sat down to watch their movie, they were unaware that three rows behind them, someone in the audience was watching them.

Thanks to each and every one of you fantabulous reviewers!

**Pilfered Sympathy: Thanks for da review!**

**Cerberus5550: Thanks man! I try to**** put depth to my characters, even secondary ones, so thanks! **

**Hairy Gregory: I'm not saying who it is yet, but I will say that it is not an original character.  I like your deductions BTW.**

**visv1695: Hey, thank you.  You have no idea how happy that made me feel considering I was _very depressed the day I got it, so it cheered me up!_**


	12. Attack in the Dark

**Pilfered Sympathy: **Yeah, Kevin is a good friend, he's partially based on one of my best friend and...what WHAT _WHAT_?!! I ask the same thing Hairy Gregory is asking, why are you suspicious of him? (mildly quizzical look- actually more like amused and curious look onmyface) Anyway LOL :P

**Hairy Gregory: **You'll find out how right (or wrong) you are soon enough mate, in fact, very, very soon! I like the occasional mushiness myself, especially when it involves a character so often seen as tough and... unmushy.

**Dooly: **See above. Thanks for the reviews!

**PinkPuff514: **Not much to say except I love reading your reviews and stuff. They make me smile (see? smiley face! :D). Thank you for being a faithful reviewer! 

****

Chapter Twelve: Attack in the Dark

Robyn rang the doorbell with a bag of microwave popcorn and a DVD. Bubbles opened the door, her face lit up briefly but it quickly sank. "Oh, hey Robyn," Bubbles sighed.

"Hey," Robyn greeted, surprised and confused by Bubbles' reaction, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Bubbles shrugged, "I just thought you would be Mike," Bubbles replied.

Robyn's jaw dropped, "You invited Mike?"

Bubbles nodded, "Uh huh. You don't mind, do you?"

Robyn sighed, she did mind. They had planned a girls night out long before Mike and Bubbles ever became an official couple. It was supposed to be just them since Bubbles and Robyn didn't have much one on one time with each other anymore. Bubbles' cheerleading friends did not like Robyn, so she always felt on the outside looking in when Bubbles was with her other friends; Robyn was looking forward to this movie night. "No, I don't mind."

"Good," Bubbles nodded. "What movies did you bring?"

Robyn looked in her bag, "Um, a couple of classics: 'Say Anything' and 'She's All That'. Oh, and "A Walk To Remember"."

"Oh," Bubbles replied, with a frown, "Well, I guess we'll see what Mike has."

"But I thought you liked these movies," Robyn said.

"I do, but I don't know if Mike will," Bubbles smiled. "You know, he's a guy." 

Robyn nodded slowly, "Right."

"I'm glad you don't mind that he's coming. Buttercup hinted that it was a stupid idea or something, but, what does she know?" Bubbles asked, taking the popcorn, "For a moment I was worried that maybe she was right, but I'm glad it's working out anyway."

Robyn sighed, following Bubbles to the kitchen. She stopped when she caught a glance at Blossom in the family room on the phone, crying. She was speaking softly to the person on the other end and Robyn couldn't seem to tell whether or not Blossom was crying from happiness or sadness. Robyn decided to give Blossom her privacy and joined Bubbles in the kitchen. "So, um, how's cheerleading?" Robyn asked, trying to make conversation.

Bubbles dropped the unopened bag of popcorn, "Uh, actually, I quit." 

"What? Why? I thought you loved cheerleading?!" Robyn gasped.

"I do I just… I can't explain it right now. It's complicated." Bubbles replied. She had no choice but to quit since they needed to avoid any strenuous activities and the cheerleading team was a serious and competitive team. She bent over to pick up the dropped bag of popcorn and lost her balance. She fell to the floor overwhelmed with dizziness.

Robyn knelt beside her and helped her up, "What happened?!" she asked, "Are you OK?"

Bubbles stumbled a bit and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples feeling another massive headache coming on. The aspirin was losing it's effect quicker than before. Probably because the antidote X in their system was only getting stronger. "Um, yeah, just a little clumsy is all," Bubbles smiled, trying to keep from letting on. Her face was a little pale. "Uh, I have a bit of a headache, I'll be right back."

Robyn narrowed her eyes watching Bubbles leave for the bathroom. Something was definitely not right. She had her suspicions before that there was something wrong with all three of the Utonium girls, something beyond stress from fighting with each other. Bubbles was hiding something. They all were.

**** 

"Really?" Blossom asked, "I love you too. I missed you so much."

"Then why did you avoid me today?" Greg asked her softly.

Blossom gently tugged at the phone cord, twisting it around her finger and gave a small weary laugh, "It's complicated."

"Try me," Greg urged.

"No, Greg, I can't," Blossom sighed, "I really want to, but I can't tell you right now."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, finally Greg replied, "Bloss, if we're going to renew our relationship, you're going to have to trust me. Is there something else going on with you I don't know about, and if there is, what is it? I'm worried about you. "

"I do trust you Greg, I trust you with my life it's just that…" Blossom sighed, "I promised not to tell anyone, not until the right time. I really want to tell you what's going on, I really do. I don't want to keep things from you. This week sucked because of miscommunication between you and I, and I don't want there to be anymore misunderstandings, but yes there is something else going on. That is why I avoided you, I don't know how to deal with it right now, and the fact I can't tell another soul what's going on… Life is just a mess right now. But please trust me. When the time is right, I will tell you everything."

"Blossom, why don't I come over," Greg suggested, "I don't care what your big secret is…well, OK, I do care because it's obviously affecting you greatly, but if it's that important that you can't tell me, I won't press the matter any further. I trust you, and I want to be with you."

Blossom paused. That was what she wanted but she didn't know how she'd face him, and how she'd be able to keep her secret, but she yearned for them to officially be reunited again so she replied, "OK. Actually, why don't we go out for a drive, or something?"

"Anything for you," Greg agreed. "I love you Bloss. I have a few things to do, but I'll be there in about an hour or so."

"OK. I love you too," Blossom replied, "See you then!" She hung up the phone and gave a girlish squeal. They were together again. Suddenly she felt blissful and optimistic about everything despite what was happening. 

Robyn took a peek in the doorway, "Well?"

"Greg and I are back together!" she sighed happily, "He's coming over to pick me up!" 

"That's great!" Robyn laughed, "I knew it would happen!" Blossom jumped up and gave Robyn a hug. Robyn suddenly felt Blossom's weight get heavier as they hugged. Blossom sank back into her chair, looking rather white, "Blossom?" Robyn asked, her expression growing concerned.

"Um, nothing, I just got a little too excited, got a bit dizzy,' Blossom said blankly, "I- I need to take an aspirin or something." She carefully rose to her feet and headed to the bathroom leaving an exasperated Robyn to watch her dash out of view. Blossom ran into Bubbles who was on her way out. "Bubbles, it's getting worse. The aspirin is hardly doing anything anymore."

"I know," Bubbles said, her tone matching the concern of Blossom's, "How are we going to keep this a secret? My head is killing me."

"What are we going to do?" Blossom asked, "A moment ago, I felt great, and now…"

"You feel as though your head is going to explode?" Bubbles asked. Blossom nodded.

"I hope the Professor finds a cure soon," Blossom cried. 

Bubbles nodded, "Me too. And you know what sis? He will."

"On a happier note, Greg and I are back together," Blossom said, "He's picking me up in about and hour."

"That's great!" Bubbles said, "At least something's turning out OK."

"But I'm having doubts again on whether or not I should go, I feel like crap all of a sudden," Blossom sighed.

"Here," Bubbles handed her another aspirin and filled Blossom's cup with water, "Take this and go. It'll be all right, by the time he comes you'll feel better. You need this, you deserve this."

"How am I going to do this without letting on that we're dying?" Blossom asked.

Bubbles shook her head, "I don't know, and I don't know how I can keep this from Mike but we've gotta be strong right? The Professor won't let us die. You know how close he is to finding a temporary solution. Then he'll have more time and before you know it, everything will be back to normal." Bubbles grinned slightly at the irony. What was normal anymore? "As hard as it is, we got to have hope."

"Ah Bubbles," Blossom smiled, "Always the optimistic one."

"I wish I was as optimistic as I let on. I'm actually terrified, but we can't let that control us. I know what its like to be controlled by fear and it's not fun. Anyway, we have to live as though nothing's wrong right now. Right? It'll be OK," Bubbles gave her sister a hug. The doorbell rang and Bubbles looked at Blossom, "That's gotta be Mike!" she said heading downstairs, brushing past Robyn and leaving Blossom standing in the bathroom, confused, conflicted but surprisingly content.

*****

Buttercup and Kevin watched the movie in silence. It was one of those forgettable Blockbuster action movies about some superhero. It was one of those movies that was more interested in the latest state of the art technology and neo-philosophy than an actual story. 

As the hero in the movie began to question how great his newfound powers were and began the clichéd speech about how his powers were a blessing and a curse and a responsibility he wasn't ready to uphold Buttercup leaned into Kevin and whispered in his ear, "They got it all wrong. Having superpowers is in no way a curse, it's awesome!" she chuckled. Kevin smiled but it quickly faded when Buttercup added bitterly, "Unless of course you can't use them and they become useless!" As the movie's hero began to complain about the responsibility she said, "It's not that big of a deal, it's worth it. Like the responsibility one needs to take when owning a car or whatever." She laughed at what she thought to be an absurdity.

Kevin nodded and laughed with her, but his attention was no longer focused on the movie. He watched Buttercup for sometime. There was bitterness and regret in her eyes, and an unfulfilled longing. Kevin frowned in anger, wondering who would do that to her and her sisters. No wonder Buttercup was acting more than just depressed lately. She didn't need that on top of everything else that was on her mind.

The movie moved to an action scene. It was an intense action scene with explosions and overloaded with amazing special effects. Buttercup was always one who enjoyed and got involved in a good action scene no matter how contrived the story but after two seconds of watching, Buttercup winced and put her hands to her head, covering her ears. She bent forward, resting her elbows on her knees and closed her eyes.

"BC?" Kevin asked, leaning forward and putting his hand on her shoulder, "Are you OK?" She nodded not looking up. "What is it?"

"It's so loud," Buttercup whispered, "I- I have a headache. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Kevin nodded and watched the movie for a few minutes, gently rubbing her back. Buttercup meanwhile was getting quite worried. Her headache was more intense than ever and the volume level of the movie did not help. She took an aspirin a few hours ago but it had worn off quicker than last time. She felt as though her head was going to explode. Kevin seemed to sense her worry and whispered, "Hey, do you want to get out of here? Get some fresh air or something?" Buttercup nodded, grabbing her bag. They stood up and to Kevin's surprise Buttercup fell into him, apparently unable to stand on her own. She looked embarrassed and angry because of it, so Kevin held her as though they were dating so her stumbling would look intentional.

The watcher in the audience who was a few rows behind them in the back row smiled. He could see Buttercup was suffering. He discreetly stood up and followed, time to get ready. It was time to make his presence known.

*****

Blossom and Greg had a happy reunion. He was a little late so when he arrived at the door, she could barely contain herself from knocking him down. She threw her arms around him and unable to restrain herself burst into tears.

"Blossom, what's wrong?"

"I'm just so glad to see you, so glad that we're together again!" Blossom replied. "I missed you," she whispered into his ear, giving him a little kiss, "Let me get my sweater, I'll be right back." she sniffed. 

Blossom poked her head in the family room where Bubbles, Mike and Robyn were watching "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" they were about an hour into it. Robyn was not looking too impressed, and looked like she there was a lot on her mind, as she glanced up at Bubbles who was snuggled into Mike's arms. The new couple was engrossed in the movie (and indecently each other). "Psst! Bubbles, if the Professor um, you know, has any luck with his um, project, call me and let me know."

Bubbles nodded, giving her sister a smile and a thumbs up before returning to her movie. Blossom nodded to her and headed off with Greg. Robyn watched both sisters curiously and bowed her head, a strange conflicted expression was on her face.

*****

Kevin led Buttercup outside and they sat down on a bench just outside the main entrance. He took her hand, "Buttercup, are you OK?" he asked. As they crossed through the lobby into the light he was shocked by how pale she had become. "What is it?"

"Side effect," Buttercup replied, doubling over and closing her eyes. "T-the antidote X makes us dizzy, gives us headaches, weakens us… I forgot to take aspirin before we left. It usually helps."

"There's a drug store across the street, do you want me to get some?" Kevin asked. 

Buttercup shook her head, "No, maybe we should just go home." She looked up at him wearily, "Don't worry Kev. I'm OK. It's my own fault, I should've taken something. I should've just stayed home I think. Man this is so embarrassing."

"Don't be embarrassed," Kevin said, "There's no one else here. Besides, everyone gets under the weather once in a while."

"I don't."

"I know but… look, it's perfectly normal, there's nothing to be embarrassed about," Kevin said.

Buttercup glared at him, "But that's exactly what I'm afraid of… normalcy. You know that."

Kevin nodded, "I'm sorry, poor choice of words. But there is no one else here, and you don't need to be embarrassed in front of me, I mean, you've seen me in far more embarrassing moments. Like, remember the time I got drunk and I puked on your shoes?"

"Kev, you don't have to feel embarrassed about that. You had just lost your mom and your brother had just ditched you, your dad became an abusive jerk because of it… you had and still have a lot going on. I don't blame you for resorting to alcohol. Besides, you got so sick you learned your lesson," Buttercup pointed out with a grin.

"And you were there for me every step of the way," Kevin smiled. He turned serious again, her eyes were beginning to water from the obvious pain she was feeling in her head, "I'm worried about you right now BC. Are you sure you're OK?"

Buttercup closed her eyes and nodded, "Yeah, I just need to get home." She slowly rose to her feet with Kevin's support. When she looked up she gasped, startled. What looked like a mugger in a black hooded sweater had emerged from around the corner holding a baseball bat, about ready to strike Kevin's skull. "Look out!" she pushed Kevin away and raised her arms to shield herself. The bat made contact with her left wrist and caused her to stumble backwards, but she remained on her feet. She gasped in pain as her wrist quickly grew numb and sore. She grabbed her wrist and tried to focus and ignore the intense pain in her head.

The attacker swung again, hitting her in the stomach just as Kevin jumped onto the attacker's back, grabbing the mugger's arm, softening the blow slightly, but it was enough to knock the wind out of her. She slammed into the wall and doubled over, shocked by the pain. She wasn't used to such pain in battle. Buttercup's mind filled with rage. There was no way she was going to be defeated by some common mugger! 

Buttercup watched the attacker push Kevin aside with surprising ease. Kevin fell to the ground several feet away, and in the process unmasked the attacker. Buttercup's eyes widened when it was revealed that it was indeed not a common mugger, but a robot. She hadn't seen a robot for years, certainly not one so well crafted. Ironically that made her feel a little better. If she was going to get the crap beaten out of her, at least it would be by something inhuman.

Buttercup pushed herself from the wall and backed up, ignoring the pain and the dizziness and stood in fighting position. The robot raised the bat again and Buttercup braced herself, grabbing the bat and yanking it from the robot's 'hand'. She swung the bat with all her might, using her super strength and speed, the bat broke in half but sent the robot flying, but not nearly as far as it would've flown had she been at her full strength. The mere act of using her superpowers drained her of a lot more energy than she expected. She fell against the wall only to see another robot, this one was larger and more abstract, emerge from the darkness from behind Kevin.

"Kevin, go inside and call for help, use my cell phone," she tossed Kevin her bag which was still on her shoulders, "This is an attack."

"Not without you!" Kevin insisted stubbornly. "You're sick, you can't fight them."

"I know, why do you think I want you to call for help? But I have to do this, to prevent anyone inside from getting hurt! It's instinct OK? It's my duty!" Buttercup hissed, struggling to breathe, certain that the blow to her stomach cracked a rib or something. She could see the two robots coming up behind him and at the moment she would be unable to get to him in time to save him if they attack him again.

"But your powers…"

She fired at one of the robots with her heat rays. It had hardly any effect on it, merely pushing it further back, but it had a strong effect on her; it was all she could do to remain standing, "I still have them, see?" she hissed, "Go!" she fired again, preventing the second robot from striking Kevin. 

Kevin finally looked behind him and got out of their way, obviously torn between saving himself and calling for help, or helping Buttercup, which he hated to admit would be a stupid move. She was right, there was a theatre crowded with people they needed to protect, and he wouldn't be much help against two robots. He would try to persuade her to run to safety herself, considering her condition, but he knew her better than that- she would never run from an attack regardless how she felt.

Buttercup was relieved when she saw him disappear inside the building. She bent her knees, and put her fists up, trying to remain focused and on her feet. She couldn't give in to pain now. The first human-like robot came at her while the other one stopped, as though it was there to merely have a menacing presence, behind it Buttercup could see someone with a remote. She couldn't make out their face, but if she could just get to him she could end the fight in no time. The robot charged and Buttercup charged as well, with the intention of faking the robot by ducking out of the way and going for it's master.

She succeeded in faking the robot and darted right past it. Her target pressed a button and Buttercup cried out in pain as a metallic whip shot out of the human-like robot's hands and wrapped around her bad wrist. It pulled her backwards and flung her against a post. She hit the post with the side of her forehead and she could feel a warm liquid ooze down her face blurring her vision as it seeped into her left eye. The whip around her wrist tightened and the metal rope retracted, pulling her into the robot which was almost twice her size. It then grabbed hold of her shoulders and pushed her down to her knees and held her down.

"My, my, my, Buttercup," a voice said tauntingly. It sounded so distant and yet so close, she could see his feet as he approached her. The voice was so familiar. "You don't look so good."

Buttercup did everything in her power to remain conscious, but she could feel herself slipping. She glanced up, and the last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was her attacker. 

It was Mojo Jojo.

A/N I hope you're all enjoying this! (Zoë Rose says: Finally some action!)

To all you silent readers out there: Please review! Even if it's just a little "Me likes" or whatever. I'm not afraid of CC either, just please review! I like to know if there are others out there who are reading this! All it takes is a little clicky on the "go" button... you can do it! I believe in you!


	13. Secrets Exposed

A/N Wow, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed. Especially all you reviewers out there who have been reviewing every chapter faithfully. It helps keep me motivated to write, especially since I'm going through a very rough time personally, you have no idea how much your reviews cheer me up. Remember, I'm not afraid of a little CC, so if you have any, please, feel free to share.

**Pilfered Sympathy**: Muhahahahahah!!!

**gOT Toast?:** Well, I don't think you've read this, considering your review was for chapter one and all you said was "No RRB NO!". But it still made my smile and *cough*PLUG*cough*ALERT*cough* if you want to read an RRB story, you can check out "In Like". I wrote it a long time ago, and I think it's pretty good for an RRB romance fic. 

**Hairy Gregory: **Yeah, I knew the robots would be a dead giveaway. Yes, Mojo Jojo does finally have a plan that's working finally, after 12 years, he's bound to learn a few things about the do's and don'ts of villainy. 

**MeWho:** Wow, you take suggestions literally. I'm glad you likes. 

**Dooly: **So just because she's my favourite character, and seems to be the focus of the story that you don't think I'd kill her off? *ambiguously strokes chin in contemplative expression* Interesting... Anyway, you'll see what happens.

**akurei-gaki: **Thank you so much for the compliments! I don't have much more to say about that, but you have no idea how encouraging your comments were. Thank you. :) 

**PinkPuff514: **I'm glad you think Greg is cool. All my original characters are based partially on people I know, but I hope he's not too perfect (i.e. one dimensional). I hope you don't die of worry... that wouldn't be good. 

Oh and sorry, but you're not going to see what happens with Buttercup and Mojo until the next chapter. I'm so evil! Wheeeeeee!!!! Enjoy!

Chapter Thirteen: Secrets Exposed

Greg pulled up into a scenic outlook spot overlooking the city. It was about a ten minute drive away and had a lovely view of Townsville and the nearby lake, depending on which direction you looked. They were quiet the entire drive but once they stopped Blossom turned to Greg and smiled, "I'm so thankful we're together again."

"Me too," Greg nodded, "You know, I was being stupid to take a break. It affected you more than I thought it would. I should've been more supportive. You and your sisters are fighting, you are having a hard time, I should be here for you. I was just tired of seeing you so angry and hurt. Maybe I was being selfish, but I hoped that it would help. I'm sorry."

"I know, you already said that," Blossom smiled, "And thanks. But you were right though because it opened my eyes. I was being a jerk."

"Have you and your sisters resolved anything?" Greg asked.

"No. Not yet, not completely in fact things have gotten a lot more complicated," Blossom sighed. "How this will affect our relationship, I don't know yet."

"So you said," Greg nodded, "but you can't tell me what it is?" Blossom shook her head. "Well, whatever it is, I will do what I can to help."

"There's nothing you can do Greg," Blossom sighed, "I don't know how you can help us with this one. Just be here." There was silence for a while as Blossom began to debate whether or not she should tell him. It was inevitable he'd find out anyway. She slowly and tenderly leaned towards him and placed her lips on his, he put his hand on her cheek and returned the kiss, brushing her hair behind her ear. Tears began to fall down her face and he gently wiped them away, pulling her into him wrapping his arms around her. She cried into his shoulder, feeling so conflicted. 

He ran his fingers through her long red hair and kissed the top of her head. She kissed his ear and they looked into each other's eyes for a moment while he gently wiped away a stray tear from her eye. She leaned into him and pressed her lips on his mouth. In turn with his upper lip he parted hers and she did the same as she leaned back against the passenger window and he advanced on her, tenderly and gently. She slid her hands under his shirt and kissed him again, while he stroked her hair with his fingers. He kissed her neck as she blissfully threw her head back.

However the sound of her cell phone ringing interrupted them. She looked at Greg and gave an embarrassed smile, "I'd better get that, it might be Bubbles with good news or something." Greg nodded. But when Blossom grabbed her phone, the call display said it was Buttercup calling. Blossom frowned. Why would Buttercup call her? "Hey Buttercup."

"Blossom? It's Kevin," he sounded frantic.

"Kevin? What's going on?" Blossom asked.

"I know about your predicament with the antidote X and all but I don't know who else to call," Kevin said, his voice shaking, "I mean I called the…"

"How do you know about that?" Blossom demanded, very confused at the moment.

"There's an attack at the movie theatres and…"

"If you know about that, call the police…"

"I did, but… Blossom, she almost fainted on me or something before… I don't know how long she can hold on!"

Suddenly it occurred to Blossom what was happening, "Is Buttercup OK?" 

"She's fighting, whatever it is," Kevin replied. "But considering everything, I don't know how long she can fight it. She's so stupid. She should've run to safety, but BC has to be the hero… please get over here." Blossom jumped at the sound of an explosion on the other end followed by the sound of screaming and alarms.

"Kevin? Kevin!" Blossom cried, there was no answer, "Kevin!" Blossom turned to Greg, "We've got to get to the movie theatres now! I'll tell you everything on the way." Without hesitation Greg started the car and began to drive, wondering that if there was an emergency why she doesn't just fly to the theatres, it would be faster. Blossom suddenly put her hand to her forehead, feeling another massive headache coming on _No, not now! _she thought bitterly. She shook her head and called into the receiver, "Kevin!"

"I…I'm OK, there was an explosion of some sort, I dropped the phone," Kevin coughed.

"I'll be right there, just get out of there and get to safety, OK?" Blossom instructed, she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, trying to will away her headache.

"Right," Kevin hung up.

Blossom felt tears of pain fall down her cheeks as she shakily reached into her purse for some more aspirin. Greg glanced her way, "Man, Blossom are you OK? What's going on?" 

Blossom looked at him desperately and shook her head, "Antidote X." She whispered.

Greg quickly looked back on the road, "What?"

Blossom explained, "Somehow someone gave my sisters and I Antidote X, and we're losing our powers. It's weakened us." Greg slammed on the breaks and pulled onto the shoulder. "What are you doing?"

"I can't let you go," Greg said. "Not in this condition. You're in pain."

"But I have to, please Greg," Blossom cried. 

"Whatever's happening at the theatres, the police can handle," Greg replied, "I'm not going to endanger your life because of this."

"Please?" Blossom sobbed, desperately trying to ignore the pain in her head, "If it were that simple I would let the police handle it, but Buttercup's there, and… you know how she is!" Greg put his hand on her shoulder, she took his hand and kissed it, "Please, if something happens to her and I did nothing I could never live with myself. You're right, we need to resolve things her and I, but… if she…and I… please Greg!" Greg sighed and slowly nodded, obviously torn. "Thank you."

*****

Meanwhile Bubbles reached for some popcorn and frowned to find the bowl empty. "I'm going to get some more popcorn," she announced. Mike nodded and Robyn sighed, deciding to follow her.

"Oh go ahead and watch," Bubbles motioned to Robyn when she noticed she had company. Robyn shook her head.

"You _know _I don't like this movie," Robyn frowned, _The Two Towers_ wasn't her type of film.

"Oh, right, sorry," Bubbles sighed. "Are you having a good time anyway?"

"No," Robyn replied, "I think I'm going to go home."

"What? Why?" Bubbles asked.

"Why do you think?" Robyn inquired, sounding rather edgy, "I don't like this movie, I wanted to spend time with you, just you so we could watch cheesy chick flicks and hang out and talk, you know, like we used to. I don't want to be here when Mike is here, it makes me uncomfortable, I feel like the fifth wheel and I feel left out and… this was supposed to be our night."

"Why didn't you say so?" Bubbles asked, surprised. She didn't see Robyn upset very often.

"I thought it was clear when we made these plans. And I didn't want to hurt your feelings or disappoint you. We can do this another night," Robyn sighed. "It was rather rude of you to invite Mike without asking me."

"I didn't think you'd mind," Bubbles said.

"So I gathered," Robyn shrugged, as a tear escaped her eye. 

"What?"

Robyn sighed, "Bubbles, we've been best friends for forever, but you know I hate to say it but since you joined cheerleading this year, and you and your sisters started fighting and you started hanging out with Jennifer and Megan and them… I'm afraid we're growing apart."

Bubbles was silent.

"I don't want us to grow apart," Robyn continued, "That's why I was looking forward to tonight. You're my best friend. But your other friends hate me, and I'm tired of being caught in the middle of the fights you've been having with Blossom and Buttercup. And believe me, I'm happy you and Mike are now a couple, but… I didn't think he'd get between us. I didn't think any guy could, but I'm afraid that it will happen from the way things are going but… are we? Are we growing apart?"

"Oh my goodness, Buttercup was right," Bubbles closed her eyes, "Robyn, I didn't know you felt this way. I mean, I don't feel like we are or at least I didn't but… you've got a point."

"Forget it," Robyn sighed, "maybe I'm just overreacting."

"No, Robyn don't say that, it's how you feel and I…" Bubbles stopped suddenly, experiencing another attack as a sharp pain shot through her head more intense than before. She winced and leaned on the counter, unable to stand up straight.

"Bubbles!" Robyn gasped, putting her arm around her, "Are you OK?"

"Yeah just another…ow," she moaned. She was afraid. She didn't want to take another aspirin. She had already taken five that night, and didn't want to overdo it.

"Is it…is it the antidote X?" Robyn asked worriedly, biting her lip.

"How did you know?" Bubbles asked.

"I over heard you talking with Blossom," Robyn confessed. "I'm so sorry, I didn't say anything before because I was waiting for you to tell me but…"

"We're not supposed to tell anyone," Bubbles said, her eyes watering because of the pain in her head.

"I understand," Robyn nodded steadying Bubbles because she was starting to sway. "Are you going to be OK?" Robyn asked, her voice was shaky. Bubbles nodded, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small bottle of aspirin which she kept with her now. "Are you sure because Blossom said something about… about, oh Bubbles I don't even want to say it!"

"The Professor won't let us die," Bubbles groaned, taking more aspirin. "He's a genius, he'll figure it out."

Robyn sniffed, "He can't let that happen," she said, her voice breaking, "you and your sisters… you're my best friends! I… you can't…" she began to cry, embracing Bubbles. 

"It'll be OK," Bubbles said, surprised at how strong she was acting. In truth she was terrified. Bubbles strained to will away her headache, worried because the aspirin wasn't working very well anymore and she feared that it may already be too late. "Don't worry Robyn, it'll turn out ok, and when this is over, we're going to laugh about it, because we got so worked up over something that will be easily fixed. We won't grow apart, I promise Robyn I will try to be a better friend to you."

"No, I'm sorry I brought it up," Robyn sobbed, "It was just how I've been feeling and I…" she was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. 

Bubbles cleared her throat and answered, "Hello? Kevin!… Wait, slow down… what… calm down I can't…No Kevin I can't explain why but we can't do that right now, we don't fight crime anymore, call the police or something and…" she sounded irritated and frantic at first but then suddenly she grew a shade paler. Her voice became weak and deadpan, "Oh no… I'll be right there." She hung up and unsteadily reached for the Professor's car keys.

"What is it?" Robyn asked.

Bubbles didn't say anything instead she gave Robyn a huge hug. She looked into Robyn's eyes and Robyn nodded. Somehow she understood. Robyn gave a small sob as Bubbles rushed out the door. Robyn sat down on the kitchen chair, not knowing what to do. She began to cry feeling guilty about bringing up how she was feeling now of all times. She listened to the sound of the Professor's car driving away and began to bite her nails with concern. She let out a sob, worried for her friends.

***** 

Professor Utonium studied the clear liquid under the microscope, watching the cells at work. He dared not blink. He smiled, the cells were doing what he hoped they would do. It wasn't a permanent cure, but it was enough for now. "Eureka!" he exclaimed happily. He rushed upstairs holding a vial of clear liquid. 

"Bubbles, Blossom, Buttercup I found…" he stopped suddenly at the sight of Robyn in tears, alone. "Robyn? What's wrong?"

"Bubbles and I had a bit of a fight and I… I know Professor what's going on with them with the antidote X and…" Robyn explained.

"It's OK," he smiled, "don't worry, I discovered a way to make them feel better considerably and… where are they?'

Robyn sniffed, "I don't know. Blossom went out with Greg, and Buttercup and Kevin went to a movie but… I think Buttercup's in trouble, because Bubbles got a phone call from Kevin and from the sounds of things they're in trouble and Bubbles just left to help."

"Oh no," he shook his head with despair, afraid that it may be too late.


	14. The Madness of Mojo Jojo

A/N I feel as though Mojo Jojo is OOC compared to the one on the show, but please keep in mind that it's been 12 years since the show, and he's eviler and dare I say it, a lot more insane than in the show, but in a darker way. He certainly isn't as repetitive, but I have a lot to put in here so if I did make him repeat everything, this would be three chapters! 

**Hairy Gregory: It's a figure of speech silly! LOL :P And they're using vehicles because it they flew at this point they'd lose all their energy and be useless- remember they're supposed to preserve their powers.  And Kev and BC aren't together…yet?  Oh, and can I possibly put my stuff up on your site?  I was checking it out and I think it's a great site you have there!**

**akurei-gaki****: Thank you for the fantabulous compliments.  **

**Bubblebean022: Sorry, but you're in for another cliffie.  Glad you like this!**

**Orlando**** Vigée-Lebrun: See above.  Thanks for the review, keep 'em comin'!**

**Visiv1695: What kind a crop huh?  Um, how about… strawberries!  Is the V right?  The Z ain't tellin'! :D**

**PinkPuff514: I'm sorry to make you wait!  Just please be strong, don't die!  Thank you so much for the reviews!**

**Pilfered Sympathy: And here's another one!  Yayness! (I think…)**

**Dooly: Police or no police, powers or no powers, I don't think considering their experience in crime fighting they'd idly stand by and wait while their sister may be in peril.  I don't think I could if it were me.**

**Bella: BellaBellaBella, thank you for reviewing!  I was surprised to log on and see how much my review count jumped!  I enjoy your little musings- you sure do seem to get into the story!  Two comments for ya:  I think they could grow to be different sizes, fraternal twins do grow differently, identical twins don't, but the PPG are neither fraternal, nor identical triplets, so I think it's open to interpretation.  And another thing, you didn't need to correct my grammer in chapter 7.  _I_ say "I don't feel well" and _you_ say "I don't feel well" but Bubbles says "I don't feel good."  It was put in there on purpose.  Some people aren't always grammatically correct when they talk.  Anyway thank you for showing interest and reviewing!**

**Chapter Fourteen: The Madness of Mojo Jojo**

Buttercup opened her eyes at the sound of an explosion followed by a sharp sting on her cheek. Mojo Jojo had just slapped her, "Wake up!" he demanded.

She groaned to find herself still restrained by the human-like robot, while the larger one was wrecking havoc on the theatre. Typical. Mojo Jojo always had a weird fetish for destruction. They were in the bushes beside the building, hidden in the darkness. She struggled a bit, but to her frustration it did nothing. She hated feeling so weak and helpless. She spit in his face, a mixture of blood and saliva hit him on the nose dead on.

He gave a half grin and wiped it off, "For three years I have been waiting for this moment," he punched her in the stomach. "During the three years of my exile I had been searching for a way to defeat you. To get my revenge."

Buttercup smiled with a bitter contentment upon seeing Mojo's state. His face was horribly disfigured, his nose was an odd shape, like it had been broken too many times to count, but the sight that gave her the most satisfaction was the patch over his left eye. In their last battle he had lost it because of her.

He smiled, lifting the patch, "Remember this?" he asked, revealing a terribly scarred empty socket.

"Yeah, I was just reminiscing about how fun it was actually," Buttercup grinned, not allowing him the satisfaction of seeing any fear in her eyes. "It holds a place in my heart as my favourite fight. Did you come back to lose the other one?"

"I have the advantage now, so don't be smart," he warned, "you have no idea how much pleasure it's going to bring me to seeing you destroyed. But not as much pleasure as seeing you suffer as I have suffered," he said, pressing a button on his remote. The robot threw her to the ground and Mojo knelt to her level, holding her down with one hand and grabbing her chin with the other. "You know, things are for once going exactly how I want them to," he smiled as she struggled to get up. Her head was killing her and her left wrist was bruised and swelling and she could hardly move it and she was no longer strong enough to get up using just her right hand. Mojo Jojo kicked her down, striking between her shoulder blades with his boot. Once she was down he kicked her side and she rolled onto her left side.

"You even helped me," he smiled, harshly rolling her on her back. He straddled her body and held her wrists down, "You see, when I returned I was going to do the old divide and conquer trick, because I know at this point if the three of you were together, you still had a fighting chance regardless of the antidote X because you do still have powers. That and the fact that you three always complimented each other: one girl's strength covering up for another's weakness, such as Blossom's rationality protecting you from your boldness. But on your own," he let her go and rose to his feet, kicking her side, causing her to curl into a ball in pain, "you're pathetic. I mean, if you were smart, you would've run away when you had a chance. But you wouldn't do that, would you? Anyhow, I'm sure you can understand how pleased I was when I saw you three fighting after I unleashed the monster the day I contaminated the water supply."

Buttercup growled in rage, she knew the moment she saw his face that he was the culprit, but hearing such a smug confession enraged her, "That's how you did it!" she tried to force herself up but one deliberate shove by Mojo, hindered her chances of that.

"Oh that's right Buttercup, I did," he pulled her to her feet and threw her into the wall, the back of her head bounced off the hard surface. He leaned in close, his eye glowed menacingly with madness, "I had this so perfectly planned. Alter the chemical just enough to make it difficult to detect, steal the delivery truck stocked with bottled water since we all know antidote X can affect me as well, and I patiently waited until you three begin to succumb to it. That amused me, you see because you three were so stupid that you acted as though nothing was wrong when really you are weak, pathetic, helpless, defenceless…" 

Buttercup growled. She fought her overwhelming dizziness and pushed Mojo away from her. She backhanded him, striking his face and he fell to the ground. She quickly advanced on him and began beating him mercilessly. "Jerk! How dare you! You know what? You underestimate us! I can still kick your ass!" She punched his face and kicked side.

He was taken aback for a moment, thinking Buttercup no longer had it in her but he reached for his remote and pressed a few buttons. Whips shot out from the robots hands, one grabbing hold of her raised fist, the other wrapping itself around her waist. She was pulled into the robot, one whip bound her hands together, the other whip remained firmly wrapped around her middle. He wiped his mouth and spit out a few bloody teeth, "That's the best you can do?" he grinned, pulling out a pocket knife, "Disposing of you is going to be a pleasure I must say. You, being the toughest fighter, you are the one who inflicted the most pain upon me." He revealed the blade and held it up, "You cost me my eye, and as the good book says, 'an eye for an eye'…" 

Buttercup's eyes widened when she realized what he was going to do, she quickly closed her eyes and twisted her neck, moving her head out of the way the best she could before he could gouge her eye out. The knife lodged itself into the robots chest. The robot began to short circuit, sparks flew out of its chest. It released her hands but the whip around her waist only tightened. The pressure around her waist was unbearable, she let out a scream, desperately prying at the restraints. Mojo chuckled, pleased at the sight. Finally its grip let up and it released her.

"You're mad!" Buttercup hissed, struggling to find breath. She stumbled against the wall and sank to the ground, clutching her waist.

"Because of you!" he screamed, leaning in close and grabbing her shoulders, "You and your worthless sisters! Throwing me out into the cold! Causing me more pain than you can imagine! Turning me into this… this monstrosity! A freak! You don't know what it's like constantly having to hide your face wherever you go! Once I was happy, I was ignorant and carefree until _you _came along! I didn't know the meaning of pain, love, loneliness and despair until you and your sisters entered my life! Why do you think I caused you so much grief? Because I _hate _you! Because it is _you _who has driven me to insanity!" He paused, his enraged tone ceased and he smiled. His tone was eerily calm as he spoke, his one eye glistened, "So imagine my joy when I found an old friend of yours and was able to acquire your kryptonite."

Buttercup's eyes narrowed at this revelation. Mojo Jojo wasn't working alone, "Who?" Buttercup asked, "Where did you get the antidote X?"

Mojo snorted, "As if I'd ever tell you. You probably wouldn't remember him so it doesn't matter."

"Try me," she hissed.

"No, I will not betray his trust. He was the only one who would take me in, who hates you as much as I. No, I will not tell," he sounded distant, and reflective for just a moment as he spoke. Turning his attention back to Buttercup, he tightened his grip, "Although I guess it doesn't matter though whether I tell you or not. When I'm done torturing you, repaying you for the calamities of pain you've bestowed upon me, I will kill you. You see, I always planned to do you in first. You, being the tough one, the one who's caused me the most physical anguish." he grinned, "Killing you will be a pleasure."

Buttercup struggled once more. He was not the Mojo Jojo she remembered, the Mojo Jojo she knew, while crazy was not nearly as insane as he was now. There was a ravenous look in his eye, he was not going to give up this time. Buttercup hated feeling so powerless. He pulled her to him and slammed her back into the wall. Her vision became a blur again, she could feel herself slipping once more, but he shook her, jolting her awake determined to have her hear his plan.

"Once I'm through with you, I will destroy Bubbles. Her and her perpetually annoying cheerfulness. It will be rewarding when I take away the joy and laughter from her life. That I will accomplish tonight when I kill you. She's sensitive, unlike you. She'll be devastated, losing a sister like that. Then when she is in enough despair, I will look forward to slitting her throat. I won't make her endure the physical pain I'm giving you. It's her sweetness that has always made me sick. No, the pain I'll give her will be emotional. It's all part of my perfect plan."

Buttercup closed her eyes, and as he spoke a feeling of bitter rage boiled up inside her. She could feel the anger flow through her veins. She clenched her fists and opened her eyes, her green eyes glistened with fury.

"And then I will kill Blossom. So perfect, beautiful and smart. She's the one I despise the most. Since she was the leader, her crimes were worse than yours. She _planned _and conspired ways to defeat me. That's why she dies last in my perfect plan. Make her endure losing her sisters before I kill her. Give her a taste of loss and regret. Knowing her she'll feel responsible for your deaths, and you know what Buttercup? I hope that guilt, that pain will drive her to madness!" he released his grip backing off slightly, "When I'm done with her no one will be able to recognize her corpse. My methods of revenge are fitting wouldn't you say?"

Buttercup let out an ear splitting scream and flew into him, knocking him to the ground. She couldn't bear even imagining what Mojo Jojo would do to her sisters. She was so enraged she no longer felt her pain, instead it granted her a second wind. She grabbed his remote and destroyed it. The human-like robot which was still short circuiting fell and exploded. The second robot which was destroying the theatre fell into the building through a hole in the wall it made and it too exploded, bursting into flames. 

Buttercup advanced on Mojo and beat him without rhyme or reason with her good hand. "How dare you threaten my sisters like that! You ever touch them… you… You've gone insane Mojerk!" she raised her fist, about to strike him again. He winced but she stopped. There was a strange look in her eyes. She glared at Mojo Jojo and grabbed his shoulders, lifting him off the ground. She looked to the sky and began to fly straight up, holding Mojo Jojo tightly. She didn't know why, knowing that she was losing her strength and powers, but she felt that it was the only way she'd have power over him at this rate, he wouldn't be able to attack, unless he was stupid.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Things didn't have to turn out the way they did," Buttercup hissed, closing her eyes as she flew. She could feel herself weakening every second , the mere act of using her powers drained her of so much strength, but the adrenaline and rage overpowered the antidote X in her system, enabling her to remain airborne. "You kicked _yourself _out. You're the one who caused _us _pain. I'll bet you didn't even give the Professor a chance to notice you. We only gave you this grief because _you _were the one bent on destroying us from the very beginning. It was a long time ago, but I'll never forget it. You tried to ruin our reputation, you tried to kill us, you tried to take over, and destroy Townsville more times than we can count. It was all because of _you_. I'll never forget that. We accepted you at first but it was _you _who turned against _us_. So you felt left out and betrayed, so what? It happens. I know how you feel, but I don't deal with it by destroying things and plotting revenge even though believe me, I want to sometimes, but I don't."

"Put me down!" Mojo Jojo insisted, looking down, they were getting pretty high up.

"Are you sure you want me to do that?" Buttercup asked. She looked down at the theatre which was now in flames. She took note of the crowd of people gathering at a safe distance and hoped that Kevin was among them, hoping everyone got out safely. "Are you sure you want me to drop you now?"

Mojo Jojo shook his head, maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all, "No! No don't!"

"Oh I don't know if I can hold on to you much longer," Buttercup taunted, "All this antidote X _you_ gave us, I don't think I can carry you anymore." For a brief moment, there was a murderous glint in her eyes. She let go. Mojo Jojo screamed as he fell. For that moment, she would've let him fall to his death; he would never bother them again, she would have the revenge she wanted, but she shook her head. It would go against everything she stood for and held dear. She would be no better than he was. She flew after him and caught him. "I should've let you drop, but I'm not like you."

Mojo Jojo looked down. The roof of the burning theatre was getting closer and closer. He looked at Buttercup who was fighting consciousness. She was seriously unable to hold on much longer. She began to gradually lose altitude and he wasn't sure if it was by her own free will or not. He glanced down again. The rooftop of the burning theatre was getting closer. He could handle the drop, and, being a monkey could easily climb down to safety considering the nearby trees.

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a laser gun. It was still set on the lowest setting, but that didn't matter, considering her condition. He fired. She let out a scream, releasing her grip as the red light hit her dead on, pushing her up. Mojo Jojo fell to the roof, landing wrong and twisting his ankle. "Curses!" he hissed, he smiled when he realized he just missed a burning hole in the roof. That wouldn't be good if he fell in. He was about to leave but suddenly Buttercup crashed into him and they both tumbled through the hole into the fiery building.

_I fell in to a burning ring of fire_

_I went down, down, down and the flames went higher._

_And it burns, burns, burns the ring of fire, the ring of fire._

_-_The great Johnny Cash

…sorry I just couldn't resist. :P

Gyahhhhh!  Another cliffhanger!   Anyway, I know you don't like cliffhangers, and I don't mean to leave you hanging, but I'm off on Christmas vacation for a month and I won't have internet access (except webTV- I'll be able to R&R, but I won't be able to update), so you won't see any updates until the new year. I won't be leaving until the 15th, but I can't guarantee I will be able to update before then. I'll _try though but I just altered the last two paragraphs of this chapter which means chapter fifteen will need to go through another major rewrite. (I generally _try_ to keep two chapters ahead before I update) Please bear with me, and if I don't get to update, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, Happy Mass Merchandising Day or whatever it is you celebrate this season. _


	15. Rescue

**Chapter Fifteen: Rescue**

Buttercup gripped onto Mojo's shoulders tightly, she could feel him slipping; she could feel herself slipping. The burning roof was getting closer and closer. She glanced at Mojo who was reaching for something. Why was she still holding onto him? His weight was making it hard for her to focus, to stay airborne. Feeling weak was something she'd just have to get used to, because of him. He wanted to kill her. He wanted to kill her sisters. Too weary to hold on any longer she released her grip on him, but at the same moment he fired his laser at her. She screamed in agony, the heat was intense, but something she knew she could handle if it weren't for antidote X, her weakened state made it unbearable as it encircled her body for a moment. She flew away from him, her vision blurred, her head throbbing with pain. She felt like all her limbs, her muscles, everything had turned to jelly. She found herself falling. 

_Stay in control, stay in control. _She told herself. She could see Mojo Jojo, gathering his bearings after he plummeted to the rooftop. If she was going to die, she was taking him with her. She gathered what little strength she had left and flew into him, and they both fell through the fiery hole in the roof. At the last moment she shoved him aside and pulled back to ease her fall. She landed on a table that collapsed under her weight then everything went black. She no longer had the strength to even open her eyes so she could do nothing but lie in the darkness, surrounded by flames.

For a while she felt hot, she felt throbbing pain everywhere. She strained to find breath as smoke began to fill her lungs. She thought she heard a voice call her name, but it sounded so far away. Then she heard more voices until they faded away into nothingness.

She started to feel numb and light as a feather as the pain slowly began to leave her. 

Then she felt nothing. 

Nothing at all.

*****

Kevin looked around at the array of people around him. Some of the theatre patrons were injured, some mildly, some severely. Those who were able tended to the injured. Kevin was one of them. He tore off a strip of fabric from his jacket and used it to cover a gash on a little boy's arm. He feebly told the boy's mother that the paramedics should be there in no time, but he was beginning to wonder-- where were they? The police? The firefighters? The paramedics? Why hadn't they arrived? They should have been there by now. They were usually phenomenal with their response time since Mayor Bellum put them under intense training programs a few years ago, shortly before the Powerpuff Girls went part time because of high school.

He wondered about Buttercup, and how she was holding out. He glanced at the sky and saw two figures, then a red light and then the two fall onto the roof. "BC," he whispered. He blindly headed towards the burning building, his pace quickening with every step. He felt a hand grab his shoulder and he tuned around to see Bubbles.

"Thank goodness you're here!" Kevin sighed with relief.

"Buttercup, where is she?" Bubbles asked.

"I think she's on the roof," Kevin said.

"Did you call the police?" Bubbles asked.

"A while ago, before I called you actually," Kevin replied.

"Then where are they?" Bubbles moaned, "Kevin, I'll go help Buttercup, try calling them again." Before Kevin could reply she was gone.

*****

Bubbles flew onto the roof, the mere act of using her superpowers was draining, but she had no choice. She frantically looked around, and looked through the holes in the roof for any sign of her sister. A couple of times Bubbles could feel the roof give way from under her as the flames fought their way through. Finally she saw something through a fair sized hole in the roof, a hand sticking out, propped up by some debris. She flew down and pulled what looked like a broken table off of her. 

"Buttercup!" she cried at the sight of her sister's lifeless form. She pulled her body away from some flames that were edging towards her.

Bubbles briefly looked at her surroundings. They were in the projection room. They were surrounded by half melted film. Bubbles was just thankful that Buttercup didn't fall into one of the theatres or there probably would've been no chance for her then. "I got you sis," Bubbles cried, "I'll get you out of here, OK?" Bubbles carefully scooped Buttercup into her arms but before she could fly out the way she came in she was roughly shoved aside. Her grip on Buttercup tightened as she slammed into a door which gave way and she fell into a hallway. At the same moment what was left of the ceiling came crashing down into the projection room and through the floor into one of the theatres. 

Bubbles looked over at her rescuer. "Mojo Jojo! It was you! You're the one who caused all this!" she coughed, beginning to feel the effects of the smoke.

"Yes it was me. I caused the fire, I did this to your sister, I'm the one responsible for the antidote X," Mojo confessed, coughing. He was a pathetic sight. Some of his fur had burned off, he was covered in blood and his right arm hung awkwardly at his side, his leg was clearly broken, "I am sorry Bubbles, dear, sweet Bubbles. I never meant for it to go this far, I only wanted to scare you. But please, I need your help. I need you to help me get out of here!"

"Why should I help you?"

"I swear, I will turn myself in. I don't want to die!" he pleaded.

Bubbles coughed, the smoke was starting to get to her. "Thanks to you I hardly have the strength to help myself out, let alone Buttercup, why on earth would I help you when you're the one who did this!"

"I'm sorry, but it's too late for your sister, I mean, look at her, but it's not too late for me," Mojo Jojo begged, it was evident in his voice that he too was starting to succumb to the smoke. Bubbles looked at Buttercup sadly, cradling her in her arms, there was no sign of life in her. "Bubbles, I always liked you best. You were always the one to show me some mercy. Please, I regret what I did, I am sorry, but I can't get out of here on my own!"

"Why should I believe you?" Bubbles asked angrily, "You've never been honest, you've promised to reform before and every time we _did _give you a chance, it was a lie. Help yourself out."

"Very well then," Mojo frowned; there was an evil glint in his eye as he grabbed his laser which he had put in his pocket just before Buttercup crashed into him. He increased the setting and fired. Bubbles screamed, falling on her back, letting go of Buttercup.

Bubbles looked around there was no sign of a way out anymore. She struggled to get to her feet with no avail, she could still feel the effects of Mojo's laser. Bubbles couldn't move, her entire body was tingling. She felt tears stream down her cheeks, "I'm sorry I failed you Buttercup." She fired her heat rays at the ceiling just above Mojo and part of it came crashing down on top of him, but he escaped getting completely buried, just barely. With that Bubbles closed her eyes, waiting for Death to claim them. 

*****

"I don't know what you're talking about sir, your call was answered and the officer who came said that the Powerpuff Girls have it all under control," the 9-1-1 dispatch said.

"The Powerpuff girls are the ones who are in danger right now!" Kevin hissed, he had lost his patience. The dispatcher was obviously new and her inexperience was beginning to irk him. But what really had him mad was the fact that he had tried to call several times and was unable to get through. The dispatch explained that they had some technical problems which were now fixed, "I thought you people knew by now that the Powerpuff Girls are powerless now!" 

"Don't be silly, they're invincible, I even saw them in action myself," the dispatcher replied.

"Yeah, probably before they were exposed to antidote X which is the only chemical they're susceptible to!" Kevin snapped.

"Please sir, calm down, the officer that responded to your last call is a very respectable officer. I'm not doubting what you just said about the Powerpuff Girls, although I do find it hard to believe. Please hold on while I check this out OK?" she said calmly.

"Why don't you send people first and then find out what happened!" Kevin suggested in a less than polite manner.

"Oh dear," she whispered in a small voice, with the kind of tone one gets when they know they're in big trouble.

"What?" Kevin snapped.

"I'm sending word out now. They'll be there right away," she said quickly.

"What is going on?"

"I goofed up," she confessed, losing the dispatcher voice and sounding sincerely sorry, "I shouldn't say this, but I don't know what happened, but the officer who claimed to have responded to your initial call is well, he's on vacation in Hawaii. I didn't know this, I just found out now."

"I don't believe this!"

"I am so sorry sir, but I promise you this time help is on the way for sure," she replied.

"There better be!" Kevin said, his tone of voice softened, sounding more forgiving but he was still clearly angry. He sighed with relief when he spotted Blossom and Greg. 

"Where?" Blossom whispered. Kevin pointed in the direction Bubbles and Buttercup were.

"Be careful!" Greg called after her as she flew off.

Kevin hung up the phone, "Thank goodness you're here. The police are obviously inept tonight."

"Where are they?"

"Apparently some dumb-ass posed as a cop and told the dispatch that everything was fine so they didn't get the message. Instead they were informed that the Powerpuff Girls had it under control! You'd think they'd have seen the smoke!" Kevin muttered.

"I think I understand now why Blossom sometimes complains about everyone taking them for granted sometimes," Greg frowned.

*****

Bubbles was beginning to succumb to the smoke and the throbbing pain that circuited throughout her body but before it could happen, she felt cool, refreshing water hit her face. Bubbles opened her eyes and to her relief she saw Blossom fighting the flames with her ice breath. 

Blossom knelt next to Bubbles and Buttercup, "Are you OK?" she asked. "Can you move?"

Bubbles, with Blossom's help struggled to get up. Blossom blew out more flames with her ice breath, but it was significantly weaker than before. Blossom swayed slightly, as she blew on more flames, "You help Buttercup, I'll get Mojo Jojo." Blossom instructed as she looked at him with contempt. He appeared unconscious as he lay on his side, surrounded by fallen embers. Blossom turned back to Bubbles, "You think you're strong enough to manage that?'

"I think so," Bubbles nodded.

Blossom cleared a path back to the hole in the ceiling with her ice breath. She ignored the pain and dizziness it caused her. Blossom was disheartened by the quality of her special power. Her ice breath almost instantly turned to water as she blew at the flames. She couldn't blame it on the heat, because not even a week ago her ice breath was powerful enough to freeze fire as it burned, now she could hardly contain a patch of flames.

Blossom roughly grabbed Mojo's good arm and Bubbles carefully embraced Buttercup as they flew through the hole in the ceiling to safety. 

They landed apart from the rest of the crowd, exhausted. Bubbles let go of Buttercup and collapsed on the moist grass coughing as fresh air filled her lungs. Greg and Kevin quickly joined them. Blossom threw Mojo's limp body aside and fell into Greg and the two locked in an embrace as Blossom gave in to exhaustion. Even though she was not involved in the fight, using her powers was far more draining than she thought it would be.

Kevin scooped Buttercup into his arms, shocked by the sight of her and her sisters. He finally heard the sound of sirens, which was music to his ears. He gently wiped away some of the blood off her face. She looked so pale and lifeless. "It's OK, you're safe now," he whispered as a tear began to fall down his cheek, he checked her pulse; he couldn't find one, "Wake up, please? It's over, everything's going to be all right now, help is coming. Please BC, come back to me," he whispered softy, "I don't want to lose you. I need you, I love you I…" he stopped and looked as the theatres finally collapsed, crashing to the ground. He used that moment of distraction and gave her a gentle kiss.

Buttercup groaned and for a brief moment her eyes fluttered open, Kevin pulled back and put his hand on her cheek.  She wheezed once and closed her eyes again, drifting back into darkness.

*****

Mojo opened his eye slightly, pretending to be unconscious. He slowly and carefully dragged himself away from them; they were too distracted to notice him. He edged towards the side driveway out of sight then a black limo pulled up next to him. The chauffer climbed out and opened the door.

"You failed," the passenger said from inside. He took a puff of smoke from his cigarette and blew it in Mojo's face.

"I am sorry," Mojo replied.

"Just be glad I helped you, even though you deliberately disobeyed me to seek out your own personal vendetta," the man shook his head, "Well, get in."

Mojo Jojo pulled himself wearily into the car with the chauffeur's help and closed the door and sighed, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me just yet. This may cost you your position with Project X if I have anything to say about it," he took another drag, and looked Mojo over, "You're getting blood all over the seat, you'd better pay for that." he frowned, as they drove away.

A/N  Yayness!  I love all the reviews!  You are all wonderful!  Thank you so much!

**Kathryn: Mojo does have an uncanny knack for having plans that backfire.  Thank you so much for reviewing!**

**Hairy Gregory: Human/Monkey pancakes…eeeeewwww!!! I hope they don't add that to the menu at IHOP.**

**PinkPuff514: Your patience is greatly appreciated.  I hope you liked this chapter.  **

**Bella: Ah grammar, I hardly knew ye.  Seriously though, my mother's an English teacher, I had no choice but to learn how to utilize proper grammar.  **

**Pilfered Sympathy: LOL! :P**

**Dooly: Oh! I get it now, OK, thanks for the clarification there and yes, Kevin was desperate.  I'm glad you like Mojo's evilness.  Well, this isn't going to end for a while, but I hope it will continue to hold your interest.  **

**akurei-gaki****: Sorry 'bout the cliffies!  I am a bit evil that way.  I like a good cliffhanger myself, keeps me wanting more.  **

**Cruel Kindness: I'll get back to that when the time is right, don't worry.  I hope you like this!  Don't die of suspense now, that wouldn't be good.**


	16. Restless Night

**Part Three: Life After X**

**Chapter Sixteen: Restless Night**

Kevin woke up with a start. His heart was pounding. He shivered as he sat in his bed in a cold sweat. He had another nightmare. He dreamt that Buttercup had died in his arms. He dreamt that she died a horrible slow and painful death. Her blood stained his shirt as she looked up at him, her brilliant green eyes losing all their luster, her eyes silently screamed in desperate agony as she strained to breathe. Then her eyes closed and she lay in his arms, unmoving. 

Kevin shivered because it was true. It did happen. She did die. It wasn't just a dream. It had been almost a week since she died, the image haunted him. It would most likely haunt him until the end of his days. The only major difference between his dream and real life was that in his dream, she didn't come back to him. When he held her that fateful night, she was dead. She had no pulse, she had no breath… she was gone. He had wondered if he only imagined her waking up for that one moment, he still wasn't sure. When the paramedics came they had told them she was gone, but when he told him he saw her eyes open moments before they arrived, they tried to revive her. He thought his heart would leap out of his chest with joyous relief when they found a pulse. He didn't know if he should call it a miracle or luck, if he should thank God or modern medicine, but Kevin did find himself saying a little prayer, making him doubt his atheism. He caught himself occasionally saying a quick silent prayer during the 13½ hours she was unconscious. 

He looked at the clock and sighed. It was 6:30 in the morning. There was little point in going back to sleep. He lay there in bed deep in thought until his alarm went off. He thought about that fateful day. She had been badly beaten. She broke her left wrist, she cracked two ribs, sprained her back and ankle, and she had to get stitches on her forehead just below the hairline on the left side. Then there were the burns, cuts and bruises she received. Most of those he could see were gone except the large, nasty, dark purple bruise on her face, although now it was lighter and considerably smaller. She still had a cough from the smoke inhalation. She was recovering faster than normal however, but Kevin was still worried about her because of how the attack seemed to affect her emotionally. She was a lot more withdrawn than usual, even to him, when he came to see her, she was usually silent, or would only say one word sentences. Not even his corny jokes could make her smile. 

But she had come back to life, and he was thankful. He would help her come out of her hole, or die trying. That was something he had vowed long before the attack, but now he was serious. Another thing he vowed was to never let Mojerk harm her or her sisters again, although he knew he would have little control over that, but he would do whatever he could to protect them. It was already beginning to annoy her how protective he had become. 

"Just until he's caught, or dead or you get your powers back, whichever comes first," Kevin assured her.

Kevin hated the fact that Mojo Jojo was still at large. Everyone felt guilty for letting him get away, but everyone was too worried, and too exhausted to pay attention, and they thought he was unconscious. On the plus side, Mayor Bellum had issued extra security around the Utonium's neighbourhood and at the school, and everyone was on the lookout for the mutated monkey, who seemed to have gone in hiding. If he knew what was best for him, Mojo would stay in hiding until the end of his days. Four people had died in the fire, so not only was Mojo wanted for attempted murder and arson, but four accounts of manslaughter as well.

Kevin never did tell Buttercup or anyone that he told her he loved her. As far as he knew, no one knew how he felt about her and no one saw him kiss her that night. He debated telling her, but he had no idea how. He didn't know how she would react, but he knew she would either laugh, freeze up in confusion, or get angry. He remembered a time not too long ago when someone asked if they were a couple. She laughed boisterously and said the thought of them ever getting together was absurd. She was very clear that ever since her first and last teenage crush, Mitch Mitchellson broke her heart in junior high, she wasn't interested in having a boyfriend until she was in college. Once in a while someone would ask her out, and she would either brush them off, laugh at their stupidity, reject them or threaten them. Kevin decided to wait until she got out of her 'hard to get' phase before he'd even dream about telling her how he felt about her (or at least in a way she could hear him). Besides, their friendship was perfect. There was no way he would risk ruining it.

*****

Buttercup dreamt about Kevin again, a recurring dream she had ever since the attack. In her dream he told her something important, but she didn't know what he was saying, then he vanished never to return; all she saw was darkness. It was then that she became aware of the shooting pain in her back, which woke her up. It drove her crazy wondering what it was he was trying to tell her. Buttercup lay in bed, rolling over a few times trying to get comfortable. She hardly slept because not only did her back give her so much grief all night, but her left arm was itched like crazy and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't reach under her cast to scratch. 

She looked at her clock. "Damn it!" she muttered. Her alarm was set to go off in half an hour which meant there was no way she'd get any decent sleep. She sighed and rolled out of bed and opened her blinds to see a grey, rainy day. She liked it when it rained, as long as she could remember she liked a good rainy day, and adored a good thunderstorm. It certainly fit her mood perfectly. 

She sighed and changed clothes, pausing for a moment in front of her mirror to inspect the remnants of her bruises from the attack almost a week earlier. Her skin around her waist and wrists were still slightly purplish yellow from the bruises she got from the robot's restraints and her lower ribcage still bore the black and blue memory of the bat's second strike. She gently ran her fingers over her bruised cheek and over the scar on her forehead. Twelve years of saving the world and it was her first battle scar. At least she no longer looked like a delicate porcelain doll, something she never liked about herself. Although now, she looked like a victim of abuse or something, not like some valiant hero, so she didn't know what was worse. It wouldn't have been so bad if she looked a little more butch, like a girl who could take care of herself, but the Utonium girls never looked like the strong, tough superheroes they were, instead they looked like the perfect little girls they were created to be. Soft, but in good, healthy shape.

"I hate myself," she muttered. 

She put on her dark jeans and long sleeved black shirt with the dragon emblem, and her new black hoodie, since her old one was completely ruined when she was attacked. She looked at her punching bag and longed to vent and relieve her frustrations on it, but she couldn't. Her back was still quite sore, and she was still exhausted from the fight since her healing powers were working overtime and using her powers were draining, but she had no control over her healing powers. But it was because of her ability to heal that she was recovering faster than normal. Her back was getting better every day and her cuts, burns and smaller bruises only lasted a couple of days. Her arm and ribs were still giving her grief, but the Professor said that her healing powers wouldn't work as fast, or as efficiently as before, but that was obvious since before she would heal instantly and completely. It was the same with the rest of her powers if she would dare try them, but the Professor begged them to take it easy until he had a permanent cure.

Buttercup popped a pill in her mouth and took it with bottled water. They would not, and could not drink tap water or anything that contained tap water anymore until the Professor was absolutely sure Townsville's water supply was clean. On top of finding a cure he was inventing a machine that would identify antidote X no matter how it was altered to become hard to detect.

The pill she took was what the Professor called Antixium. Antixium was their temporary solution to their problems. If they took it once a day, or after engaging in something strenuous or using what was left of their powers, they could expect to live a good, normal life, provided they took it easy and avoided any vigorous activities. The Professor had called the school so they were exempt from gym class, and Bubbles was forced to quit cheerleading, which had completely dampened her spirits since she was once the happiest about becoming normal. A little bit of exercise would be OK, but that was it. Antixium should help them considerably, although they would sometimes feel tired and listless. What was left of their powers would always be there, but they couldn't use them unless they wanted to experience the side effects of exhaustion, dizziness and headaches and would decrease their chances of ever getting cured. Buttercup hated being 'reduced' to having to take Antixium once a day, but she liked it because it did help renew their strength and relieve their symptoms.

She sighed as she slowly made her way downstairs. It was going to be her first day back at school since the attack. Going back was the last thing she wanted to do. She wished she could at least wait until Monday to go back, instead of Thursday which in her opinion made more sense. But everyone agreed it would be better for her if she went back into routine as soon as possible.  Like they had any idea what was best for her.  She had no idea how she would face everyone. Would they blame her for what happened as much as she blamed herself? Would they stare at her? Laugh at her? Feel sorry for her? Blossom and Bubbles had said that no one seemed to be able to accept that they were no more, even though it was now announced publicly. That would probably change once they saw her.

Buttercup was still trying to accept it. It didn't truly hit her yet that her superhero days were over. Even with all the pain she felt that she wouldn't have ever felt before, she still believed that she'd get her powers back again. The fact that Mojo Jojo nearly killed her, or, technically did kill her really brought her down to reality. Sometimes she could admit (with bitterness) that she was no longer the powerful girl she once was, and most likely would be for the rest of her life, normal. The rest of the time she was in denial, and was sure their bout of weakness would be temporary. Either way, she doubted she would ever be able to accept normalcy. 

The only good thing that came out of the whole mess in Buttercup's opinion is that whatever conflict she and her sisters had was slowly but surely starting to reach a point of resolve. While Buttercup was still in the hospital, a teary eyed Blossom had apologized for everything, saying that all she could think of while Buttercup was still in critical condition was about how terrible it would be if she died while there was still so much malice between them. Blossom gave the clichéd speech about she wouldn't e able to live with herself if that happened. Buttercup had to admit though, there was truth to the old cliché, because she felt the same way. Buttercup and Blossom apologized for everything they said and done to hurt each other, at pretty much the same time. They promised to listen to each other even if they can't agree and to never let their arguments become hurtful again. It was admittedly too early to tell how sincere they were, and whether they'd stay true to their word, but since then, things had improved between them greatly, although Buttercup still for some reason felt an empty void when it came to her and Blossom as though something was still left unsaid by both of them.

It was a different story with Bubbles who had been unusually aloof to everyone while Buttercup was in the hospital. While she was stuck there, Bubbles wouldn't say anything to her except small talk, which wasn't much different than before. Although this time she was like that to everyone. She seemed to be in deep thought all the time. Her coldness toward Buttercup wasn't unusual, but it bothered her more than it did before. She was the only one not babying her and treating her like a delicate flower, which Buttercup respected and admired since Buttercup hated when people acted like that. The problem was that Buttercup expected the attack would spark Bubbles dormant nurturing nature. Buttercup for a while feared their relationship was forever doomed. However, on the first day she was back from the hospital Bubbles quietly crept into Buttercup's room and sat next to her for a long time before she whispered, "Listen, I'm sorry."

"For what?" Buttercup asked. She knew, but she wanted to hear Bubbles say it.

"For always ignoring you at school, for my friends who always made your life miserable, and for never talking to you," Bubbles replied.

"I'm sorry too," Buttercup sighed, "Just because your friends are jerks, doesn't mean you are. I know you're not the snob that you appear to be. I don't blame you for ignoring me. I know I push people away."

"Why do you do it?" Bubbles asked.

Buttercup shrugged, "I don't know. I just… I can't trust anyone."

"Once you could trust me," Bubbles sighed.

"Not anymore," Buttercup replied, "When you started hanging out with the snobby and mean cheerleaders, that changed. You should know that. Guilty by association. I felt betrayed. You should know by now how mean those girls are."

"Were." Bubbles corrected, "Why does everyone stereotype cheerleaders anyway? Just because I quit the art club for cheerleading doesn't mean I changed as a person! Cheerleading is a fun, underestimated sport! Why does everyone like to paint us cheerleaders as mean and shallow snobs anyway?" She ranted.

"Hey, I don't have a problem with cheerleaders. I have a problem with mean, snobbish ones. Hey, every group has them, from the cheerleaders to the drama geeks and artists. Don't assume I'm stereotyping!" Buttercup hissed, she coughed. "And they are mean! Are you too dense to realize it?"

"Will you stop criticizing me and my friends?" Bubbles demanded, "I come here to apologize and here you are bashing my friends! You don't know them! Sure they pull pranks that come off as mean, but they don't mean to be mean!"

"What do you mean?" Buttercup snapped.

"You know what I mean!"

"They certainly don't harass me out of good humour!" Buttercup frowned, "I know them better than you do it seems. Remember, Megan used to be my friend until she started to spread rumours about me that were so obviously untrue!"

"She did not! I thought it was Mitch!"

"Yes, she did. You mean you didn't know that she was the one who kick started the 'Let's ruin Buttercup's reputation' year? You're friends are mean-spirited bitches, you're better than that, or at least you were." Buttercup rolled her eyes and broke into a coughing fit, since she was still affected by the smoke.

"Are you OK?" Bubbles asked softly. Red in the face Buttercup nodded. "I knew this would be the wrong time. You need rest, why don't we talk about this later, when we cool off."

"Fine. But let me say this," Buttercup muttered, "how did your friends react when you told them you quit cheerleading?"

"I haven't told them yet," Bubbles said quickly.

"Why not?" Buttercup asked clearing her throat.

"Because I… why don't we talk about this tomorrow, OK?" Bubbles asked, "You need your rest." As Bubbles left the room, it was clear that she was trying to hold back tears.

Buttercup and Bubbles never did talk about it again. Three days later, their relationship was still cold, they hardly spoke, but the tension somehow had been lifted as though they reached an understanding. 

When Bubbles joined her in the kitchen she was agitated and silent. Blossom didn't say much either, but she was at least making an effort to lighten the mood. Upon seeing the apprehensive look on her face, the Professor gave Buttercup a reassuring hug and told her everything would be fine. Buttercup nodded wordlessly. 

"Time to go," the Professor said, looking at his watch as he hugged her. Ever since the attack he insisted on driving the girls to school. While he grabbed his keys Buttercup heaved a big sigh, trying to prepare herself to face the day.

_____

A/N Sorry it took so long to update.  This chapter was a lot harder to write than I expected.  (There are six versions on my computer O_o!)  I really didn't want this to get too melodramatic, didn't want the hospital drama yet didn't want to cheat the readers of what happened by diving back into the plot without so much of an explanation.  I am still not happy with the way this chapter turned out, but I guess I'll just have to deal with it.  It's more of a transition chapter anyway.  

Thanks go to…

**Bubblebean022**: Sorry for the tardiness.  Thanks for the review!

**akurei-gaki**: Thanks-ness!

**Dooly**: I never thought about the X-Files, but reading it over you're right, the man in the limo does have a resemblance to Cigarette Smoking Man from X-Files.  Perhaps it was a subconscious source of inspiration.  This is not a crossover, so you can be sure it's not him.  As for your questions/speculations, you'll find out in time.

**PinkPuff514**: Don't be distraught.  Sorry it took so long to update, hopefully I'll be able to update a bit more frequently now that I've gotten past this hellish chapter to write.  (so much harder than I thought)  

**Hairy Gregory: **No, the guy in chapter one was Mojo.  Bubbles is too smart to fall for Mojo's pathetic, desperate last minute attempt to survive, especially considering everything that was going on.  Not much else to say.  As always, thanks for being a loyal reviewer! 


	17. First Day Back

A/N  Thank you everyone for the reviews!  Keep them coming!  I do like to know if people are reading this and haven't lost interest, so if you've been reading but slacking on the reviewing, PLEASE leave a review. It makes me happy.  I like being happy. You know what else makes me happy?  An update!  Enjoy!

**___________________________________**

**Chapter Seventeen: First Day Back**

Walking down the hallway for the first time in a week was strange for Buttercup. Never before did the Utonium girls need to miss school for a long period of time. She was subject to many stares. Some gave polite second glances, some people were a little less discreet. There was a lot of whispering, some people even snickered, which angered Buttercup greatly. One person loudly complained of not having anything to do now that the only multiplex in the Pokey Oaks area was ruined. "Now we have to go all the way to the other side of town to go to the movies!" he had complained. She chose not to say anything, she did feel that they were right to be mad. She should have done a better job, but she really didn't want to deal with it at all.

"Hey Buttercup," someone called as she headed to class. It was Deuce Green, Ace's cousin, leader of the newer generation of the Gang Green Gang, second only to Ace. She frowned and looked away, choosing to ignore him. He persisted, "Yo, Buttercup!" he stood in her way.

"Get lost," Buttercup hissed.

He cornered her against the lockers, "Man, that looks nasty! It must've looked terrible when that was new!" he commented, looking closely at her bruised cheek, he put his hand to her face but she bitterly brushed it away before he could touch her face. 

"I told you to get lost!" she snapped.

"Take it easy," he said, "I was just saying! Does it hurt?"

She glared at him, "Why don't I hit you, and you can find out for yourself?"

Mitch Mitchellson, who was also part of the Gang Green Gang joined them, "Hey, so I guess it's true, you really are powerless!"

Buttercup shoved Mitch out of the way, "Leave me alone you jerks!" She started to walk away but Mitch grabbed her good arm.

"But you're still the feisty girl I know," he winked in an insinuating manner.

"I may not be as powerful as before, but I can still kick your ass, so you'd be wise to let go now before I castrate you!" Buttercup warned.

"Sorry," Mitch backed off. He let her go and raised his arms in truce, "Sorry, habit. You know me, remember? No need to overreact." He laughed nervously and looked away avoiding any eye contact with her.

"We just want to talk," Deuce said seriously. His normally cocky tone disappeared.

"You have a funny way of going about it," Buttercup growled, "I don't want to talk. Certainly not to you."

"It's important," Mitch said, also losing his slick tone and turning serious. "It's about Mojo Jo…"

As Mitch spoke, Buttercup ran her fingers through her hair, a nervous habit she developed since the attack. Her long sleeved shirt that she wore to hide the bruises and make her cast on her left arm less noticeable slid down slightly, exposing partially faded red, purple and yellow bruises on her wrist. She also briefly moved her bangs to reveal the stitches on her forehead partially.

"…man, what did he do to you?" Mitch asked with sincere sounding sympathy. "I knew Mojo successfully ended your crime fighting career, but… I didn't expect you to look like this…"

"Are you done? I don't want to talk about it!" she snapped.

"We may have been enemies in the past but…" Deuce started.

"What now that I'm not a superhero and don't have the authority to arrest you all of a sudden we can be friends?" Buttercup rolled her eyes, "Not interested…" She started to walk away but Deuce grabbed her.

"Listen this is important!" Deuce hissed.

"Let go!" she snapped, pulling away. She winced and clutched her ribs, the action caused her some strain.

Kevin came around the corner in time to see Buttercup grimace in pain, "Hey! Let her go!" he pushed Deuce away and raised his fist at Mitch, "Beat it!"

"Whatever," Deuce snorted turning on his sleazy tone of voice, "We'll talk later." he said to Buttercup before he and Mitch slinked away. 

"BC are you OK? Did they hurt you? I didn't know you were coming back so soon, why didn't you tell me?" Kevin exclaimed giving her a gentle hug, surprised to see her.

"I'm healing pretty fast, even though it doesn't look like it," she replied, pushing him away, "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"I can fight my own battles you know," she stated coldly. "I don't need you to protect me."

"But BC, they were harassing you, weren't they?" he asked.

"I don't think so," she whispered, leaning against the lockers, looking exhausted, "I think they wanted to tell me something. But it doesn't matter. I have no interest in what the Gang Green Gang says."

"They weren't hurting you?" he asked.

"No," she sighed still clutching her ribs. She leaned against the lockers and doubled over in defeat, stress and pain, emotional and physical so evident in her emerald eyes.

"I'm sorry," he frowned, "Are you OK?" he asked softly. 

She shrugged.

Kevin's squinted his eyes, and scratched the back of his head in contemplation, he then looked her in the eyes and asked carefully, "Buttercup, what exactly did happen?" 

Buttercup looked at him in surprise, it was rare when he called her Buttercup, "You mean about what happened between Mojo and I, or the Gang Green Gang?" she demanded.

He hesitated, judging by her expression he was afraid to reply, but he took a deep breath and said rather meekly, "Mojo."

She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes, "Mojo Jojo and I battled to the death. He won. As far as I know he could be in Hawaii sipping pina coladas on a beach while I'm stuck here at this loser high school, powerless, in pain and subject to stares, whispers and laughs. Anything else?" she seemed bitter about having to say anything. "Look, everyone has been trying to get me to talk about what happened. The Professor, Blossom, Bubbles, the police and even the bloody Gang Green Gang! I already gave the police a statement and to be quite honest I think that's enough. I don't want to talk about it and I don't need you pestering me about it!" she snapped.

"Sorry, I won't mention it again," he said.

"Just forget it!" she sighed, storming off. 

Kevin watched her go, dumbfounded. 

Meanwhile Princess Morbucks checked her reflection in her locker mirror and spotted Mitch and Deuce heading her way. She eyed them suspiciously as they walked on by, not knowing that she noticed them in her mirror. They passed by quickly as though they were avoiding her. Princess closed her locker and glared at them as they walked on by. As she headed to her class she spotted Buttercup and Kevin. Princess was surprised to see her back so soon and even more surprised by the fact Buttercup and Kevin appeared to be fighting. "…and even the bloody Gang Green Gang!" she heard Buttercup snap as Princess continued walking. Princess narrowed her eyes and clenched her fist, her face in a scowl.

"What were they doing talking to her?" Princess wondered furiously.

*****

Bubbles heaved a sigh. It was 4:00, time for cheerleading practice. She still hadn't told anyone that she had to quit. Instead she had come up with excuses for missing practice. Buttercup's injuries were a perfect excuse. "I have to go with my family to visit Buttercup in the hospital." "It's Buttercup's first day home and we're having a welcome home party, I have to be there." "I have to help Buttercup since she's still in pretty bad shape." were her typical excuses, they were true. Her cheerleading friends were starting to resent Buttercup for hindering Bubbles' involvement in cheerleading, practically blaming her for her problems. Bubbles was beginning to resent those accusations.

"You guys just don't understand," Bubbles sighed a few days ago when Megan complained about how Buttercup was taking too much of her time.

"It's true," Megan snapped, "It's always 'Buttercup this, Buttercup that!' I mean, come on! She's such a bitch, who cares?! Bubbles we need your full commitment. The year's almost over, this is serious crunch time, we have a major competition coming up, do you really want to throw away what you've worked so hard to achieve?"

"No!" Bubbles replied, "I don't want to throw it away, I love cheerleading."

"So why are you going to let her ruin this for you?" Megan asked.

"It's her first day back from the hospital, you don't understand how important it is that I be there for her right now," Bubbles replied.

"But you can't stand her!" Jennifer pointed out.

Bubbles hesitated, "Sometimes she does get on my nerves, with her attitude, but she's still my sister. I watched her die, remember? You have no idea what that's like! You have no idea how that feels, how much it haunts me. Especially considering how I've been as a sister."

"But she's alive now and didn't you say she'll be fine?" Sarah asked.

Bubbles nodded, but on the verge of tears, "Yes, but I still need to be there for her. She's been going through a rough time lately without this happening, and I wasn't there for her. I feel I was given a second chance, I feel guilty for everything and I don't know how to react to it all OK? Please, try to understand how much of a hard time my family is going through. We need each other, I need to be there for them. Can't you guys be a little more supportive? If it were you, I would be."

"Fine, all right," Megan replied, "You can miss another practice. I guess things do kinda suck for you right now." she gave Bubbles a hug and a quick peck on the cheek, "Sorry. But don't miss anymore."

"About that," Bubbles said, wiping a tear from her eye, "I um…"

"What?"

Bubbles was going to tell them the real truth then and there. She was going to tell them the whole story about antidote X and how strenuous activities were harmful, but looking in their eyes she couldn't do it. They didn't care about the fact she had lost her powers, that wasn't an issue, in fact she wasn't allowed to use her powers while cheerleading, but she was afraid of how they would react to her quitting. She noticed how they seemed to look down on her, always scrutinizing her, even more so since she first had to leave practice early for not feeling well. What if her fears and wishes were realized? She wanted to be normal to find out who her real friends were, but now that she had her chance she was terrified. What if they really weren't the friends she made them out to be?

"Bubbles?" Sarah raised a brow, "What is it?"

"I uh… nothing," Bubbles replied. She was angry at herself for her behaviour, and at her friends for the way they talked about Buttercup. Ever since Mojo attacked, family had become more important to her than before and she noticed how her friends slandered them all the time. Why hadn't she noticed it before? _Have I really become that shallow_? She wondered. 

That night she apologized to Buttercup on behalf of herself and her friends. As Bubbles slowly headed towards the field, where cheerleading practice was held, Bubbles regretted getting angry at all. Why did she get mad at Buttercup for slamming her friends? In her mind she was saying the same thing lately, so why did she defend them? Why did they matter to her? Why was she so afraid to lose a few friends who in reality were meaner than she painted them to be? She was so confused sometimes she wanted to scream. Not only about her friends, but everything: her family, her friends, losing her powers, Mojo Jojo, the state of their health, graduation, her future… everything.

Bubbles had her silver, white and black uniform in her back pack, she held her nose in the air with snobbish confidence and told herself to relax. She had no more excuses now that Buttercup was back at school. What excuse could you give for missing three practices in a row? She had to tell them, she was going to tell them. "There's nothing to fear. If they're true, they won't care, they'll understand. If they're not the friends you thought they were, do you really want them as friends?" she asked herself as Megan and Jennifer waved her over.

"It's about time you show up," Megan exclaimed, "Come on, get changed, you're late."

Bubbles took a deep breath, "I can't."

"What is it now?" Megan rolled her eyes, "It can't be Buttercup again?"

Bubbles shook her head, looking at her hands which were still a little red from her own injuries of that night. She did have minor burns that were almost completely gone. "No, it's not that." she replied, "I quit."

"Why?" everyone gasped.

"I'm really tired lately, you know?" Bubbles sighed, "I don't have the energy to do it."

"I noticed you haven't been yourself," Mandy, one of the cheerleaders who Bubbles didn't hang out with too much nodded. "You look tired lately, you OK?"

Bubbles shook her head, "No. But I will be when the Professor finds a cure."

"For what?" Megan asked sceptically.

Bubbles handed Megan the uniform and explained almost everything. She left out the part that antidote X was potentially fatal if the Professor couldn't find a cure, and antixium, the temporary solution. She didn't want to tell them about that lest she start a rumour that the Powerpuff Girls were dying and explaining antixium would complicate things too much. "I hope you understand."

"Sure," Megan shrugged, but her eyes were less understanding, "I don't know why you didn't just tell us."

"I'm sorry," Bubbles replied, "I don't want to quit, and I think I was just in denial. But I have no choice. I'll see you all later, OK?" Bubbles waved to her team and headed back to the school to wait for the Professor to pick them up. When she saw Buttercup sitting by herself on the steps outside the main entrance, Bubbles sat down next to her and put her arms around her, taking Buttercup by surprise. She jumped and made a fist but relaxed when she saw that it was Bubbles.

"Where's Blossom?" Bubbles asked, letting her go.

Buttercup shrugged, "Work I think."

"Oh yeah," Bubbles nodded, "I forgot about that. It was nice of Mayor Bellum to give her that time off. I can't believe Blossom insisted on going back today, she's been keeping herself so busy lately."

Buttercup nodded but said nothing.

"How was your first day back at school?" Bubbles asked. Buttercup shrugged. "I'll bet Kevin was glad to see you." Buttercup didn't respond. "Well, I took a while, but I finally told everyone I quit cheerleading."

Buttercup looked at her, "So what did they say?"

"They were OK with it," Bubbles nodded, "I think."

"Hey guys," Mike sat behind Bubbles and gently massaged her shoulders and kissed her cheek. "Do you want a ride home angel?"

Bubbles shook her head, "Professor's picking us up." She leaned back into him as he wrapped his arms around her. 

"Buttercup'll tell him where you are, right?" Mike asked. 

Buttercup shrugged. She looked at Bubbles, "So how do you feel now that you told them?"

"I was scared at first, but now that I told them, I feel so much better," Bubbles replied. "I just hope they're OK with it like they say they are."

Buttercup shook her head and snorted.

Bubbles frowned and glared at her for a moment then looked away guiltily. She sighed, "Tell the Professor I'm going home with Mike."

Buttercup nodded. 

Mike and Bubbles left and Buttercup was left alone. She sighed and looked around at everything, rubbing her temples, feeling like crap. She listened to the breeze rustle through the trees, and focused on the sound it made-- anything to keep her mind off of how she was feeling and the memory of the attack. The faint sound of cheerleading and football practice echoed in the background prompted Buttercup to look at Bubbles as she climbed into Mike's car. She felt bad for Bubbles, but at the same time was relieved that she quit. Buttercup knew how much Bubbles loved the sport, and was sorry that she had to give it up, but it would be better for her in the long run if she stopped hanging out with Megan and her clique. If the only way it would happen would be by quitting, so be it. She just hoped that Megan matured a bit since junior high. Buttercup hated the thought of Bubbles feeling Megan's wrath. 

Buttercup shifted her glance as they drove off and noticed a dark figure lurking in the parking lot. He was leaning against the school sign, partially hidden in shadows between the sign and a tree, smoking a cigarette, long dark hair hung in his face. He was intensely looking around, like he was watching for something. When he and Buttercup made eye contact he tossed his cigarette and stomped it out and walked away, somewhat startled.

"Ace?" she narrowed her eyes with recognition. She frowned, wondering what he was doing there. He was obviously not there to pick up his cousin. 

Buttercup closed her eyes and shivered. 

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Thanks are in order for my fantabulous reviewers who inspire me and always make me smile!

**Hairy Gregory: **Thanks, glad you liked the last chapter, even though I didn't.  I tend to be more critical of myself than necessary sometimes (I think).  It really was hard to write.  So was this chapter.  I'm at the point right now where I know what's going to happen, I know how this will end, but getting there's the problem since I don't want to get too rushed or too boring.  You know what I mean?

**Bubblebean022**: I hope this chapter helped you get some insight to Bubbles' coldness.  Thanks for the review!

**PinkPuff514: **That was my intention, to fool/shock/surprise my readers with the beginning of the previous chapter.  Glad it worked.  (I can be so evil, can't I?)  As for what happened to Buttercup, I will slowly reveal what happened, not completely though because what her ex-friends did to her isn't exactly the point, what matters is that she free herself from past hurts to live her life and move on.  It's important for me to mention because it's a big reason why she is how she is.

**Dooly: **Bingo.  When the original mayor was mayor, Townsville's justice system sucked (of course if all the villains got a decent jail sentence, there wouldn't be a show and the girls would have more time on their hands. :D) but Mayor Bellum is a little tougher on the bad guys and worked hard to improve the justice system. Glad to hear I fooled you too with BC's death. Thanks for the review!

Once again to all you silent readers, REVIEW!!!  I do take anonymous reviews and value each and every one of them (unless they're flames in which case I stomp them out, but CC is more than welcome).  You don't have to say a lot if you don't want to, I just like to know if there's more people reading and that you haven't lost interest.  


	18. Falling Apart

A/N Just to clarify, this takes place three weeks later, I don't know if I communicated that well.  

Woo Hoo!  Only three more reviews until I reach 100!  I don't know why, but that excites me.

Anyway, enjoy!  And don't forget to review!  Constructive Criticism and feedback are my friends.

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**Chapter Eighteen: Falling Apart**

Kevin slammed the door behind him, donning sunglasses and a frown. What a way to spend the morning: fighting with the old man. His father came home around four o'clock totally drunk waking Kevin up from his restless slumber so he could nurse him back to sobriety. Harsh words and fists were passed a few times and Kevin was tired of it. Worse, his brother Vince had called the night before after almost three years without a word, asking for money. He longed for his mother and wished that his family could be whole again. 

He was way too early for school, so he walked, taking the long way, passing by a small struggling community church. He looked up at the modest wooden cross on the building and stared at it for a while. For the last three weeks since he unexpectedly found himself praying to a God he didn't believe in when Buttercup was inches from death, Kevin had found himself soul searching. He was still unsure of what to believe. But at that moment, he was angry, at what he did not know. Life perhaps. Ever since his mother, a good strong Christian woman, died, his faith in life had almost died with her. He openly rejected his mother's God, and turned atheist. 

The only person who saved him from killing himself the year of her death was Buttercup. She was the one who kept him strong, and kept him from falling on the path his father and brother took. She restored his faith in life.  Thinking about her though made him realize why he was so angry at life, not because of his fight with his father, not because of the cold message his brother left on their machine, but because of Buttercup. Ever since she was attacked she pushed him, along with everyone else, away. Every day she drifted further and further away from him until it was as though they were mere acquaintances, not the best of friends. When she wasn't unhealthily quiet and withdrawn, she was becoming a mean, harsh person to be around. It was as though she no longer trusted him and he couldn't figure out why. What had he done to make her turn away from him? To make her reject his friendship? Did she resent that he had become overprotective? Did she hear him that night when he said he loved her? 

Both of their lives were falling apart at the seams; he needed her more than ever and she needed him, why, why, why did she push him of all people, away? She was the only person he could count on to stand by him, and vice versa-- she made that clear-- and that too was falling apart. They needed to lean on each other. He vowed to stand by her no matter what, but it was getting harder and harder, because she only resisted more and more. The fact that he loved her only made it worse. She was breaking his heart. He felt as though he had no one, he had nothing else to turn to, but an old wooden cross on the side of a dying church of a faith he didn't believed in.

"God, if you exist," he said, shaking his head and kicking the dirt, "deliver us from this shit."

*****

Kevin didn't see Buttercup at all that day until lunch. She sat in her usual corner in the cafeteria, except for the cast on her arm all visible evidence of her attack was gone. She looked worn out though; her face was pale and her eyes had dark circles. While her sisters looked healthier each day, her progress was slower. 

He sighed and sat down next to her, not saying anything. What was beautiful about their friendship was that they could sit for a long time in silence without feeling awkward, but lately Kevin felt as though Buttercup's silence was a hint for him to leave her alone. But he didn't give up. He needed her, and cared for her too much to abandon her. He wished she would just talk to him, someone, _anyone_. He knew she would feel better if she did.

She looked up at him, "What happened to you?" she motioned to his black eye.

"Guess," Kevin said, surprised at his tone of voice which sounded harsher than he intended. But he was frustrated, and tired.

"Your dad, right?" she guessed angrily, he nodded. "That stupid SOB, I'm going to kick his ass! He has no…"

"You'll do nothing of the sort," Kevin snapped, "it's none of your business."

"I know," Buttercup replied, raising her voice, "I just want to help. You don't need to be so rude about it."

"Sorry, I'm just having a bad day," he sighed, bringing his tone down.

Buttercup nodded sympathetically, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Kevin snorted, with a half grin on his face. He shook his head, frustrated that she would have the audacity to ask the question he had been asking yet she refused to answer, "No."

"What's with you today?" Buttercup muttered.

"What do you mean?" Kevin asked, "What's with you _every _day?"

Buttercup's jaw dropped, "What do _I_ mean? What do _you_ mean?"

Kevin was hurt, she sounded like she was attacking him, "You and your attitude! I mean, I've been trying so hard to be here for you, and you've been treating me like I'd blackmail you the moment I had the chance! Have I given you any reason not to trust me? Have I given you any reason to hate me?"

"You know I don't hate you," Buttercup rolled her eyes.

"Then why have you been acting like you do?" Kevin asked, "Why won't you talk to me?"

"We're talking now," Buttercup snorted.

"If you can call this talking," Kevin shook his head, "BC, don't you get it? I care for you. We've been through so much together, why do you reject me now? Like you, I just want to help."

"If you really cared and wanted to help or whatever," Buttercup said, "you would just leave me alone. I'm not rejecting you, I just want to be left alone, OK? It's nothing personal."

"Nothing personal?" Kevin couldn't believe what she was saying, "BC, listen to yourself! I can't help but to take this personally. Ever since we became friends we have stood by each other through good and bad, remember? We used to lean on each other for support when things get rough. You died in my friggin' arms! Remember?! You can't imagine how overcome with joy I was when you came back to me! You have no idea how much it is killing me right now to see you, because I am losing you again. I can see it; you're dying from the inside out. You are becoming nothing but an empty, hollow shell, void of life, void of joy. You are the only person in this world I can count on, the one I care for the most and you're telling me to leave you alone while I stand by and watch you wither away into nothing?"

"Oh what do you know?" Buttercup snapped, "You don't understand how I could possibly feel, no one does. Just leave me be! OK?"

"You know who you remind me of?" Kevin asked, "My father. You know why? Because my father is a coward. He wasn't always the jerk he is, remember? When my mother died, instead of facing his inner demons he became a coward and ran away from his problems, instead of properly mourning for his wife and moving on to care for his two sons, his only remaining family. His cowardice turned him into something he's not. He ran away to hide behind a bottle. When my brother… you remind me of him too because he literally ran away from his problems, when he left, you know what my father did?"

"What?" Buttercup snapped.

"Nothing," Kevin said, "He went to the bar and got himself drunk, came home and slapped me around, blaming me for Vince running off. He took it out on me. Remember that? Suddenly I have to take care of my father because he had to turn himself into a hollow nothing. I had to watch him become the cheating, abusive, alcoholic shell he is. You're so much like him, you're avoiding your problems, you're ignoring them, drowning them out by wallowing in self pity and taking them out on people, you're allowing them to eat away at you. You may not be a drunkard like my father, but what you're doing is just as destructive. Do you have any idea how much it kills me to see this happen again?"

"Whatever," Buttercup said blankly, her face was hard and cold. 

"I never thought you would be this selfish," Kevin said quietly, shaking his head. He rose to his feet and walked away, ignoring the audience they attracted.

Buttercup watched him go, her eyes softened and she put her face in her hands, feeling terrible, physically and emotionally. She wanted to apologize, she wanted to go after him, but couldn't bring herself to do it. Her head was spinning and she was too angry to care, even though her anger was not directed at Kevin. Her anger was directed towards herself, Mojo Jojo, and life in general and the fact that Kevin was right.

Bubbles had entered the cafeteria at the tail end of Buttercup and Kevin's argument. She was surprised by it, and was about to join Buttercup but the look on her face warned Bubbles to leave her alone. Bubbles sighed and looked around for a place to sit. She smiled when she saw that there was a seat at Megan's table. "Hey guys, can I join you?"

Megan looked up at her and assessed her with her eyes, "Mmm, whatever." she replied. Bubbles sat down and Megan went on to talk to Jennifer and Sarah as though Bubbles wasn't there.

Bubbles had no idea what they were all talking about having joined them in the middle of a conversation. She tried to listen and possibly join in, but their body language was less than inviting. When there was a pause Bubbles asked, "So how is cheerleading going? I've hardly seen you guys since I quit." When her friends gave her no sign that they heard her she repeated her question.

"I'm sorry, were you talking?" Jennifer raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, how's cheerleading going?" Bubbles asked.

"Oh! Well Mandy's taken over for your part. Ugh, no wonder she was an alternate, she sucks," Megan said, "So anyway, as I was saying…"

Bubbles frowned as they continued with their conversation. She sat there with a sinking feeling that they were not going to acknowledge her any time soon. They had their backs turned away from her and gave no signs on letting her join in. "Are you excited about grad? It's hard to believe that it's only two weeks away. Time flies doesn't it?" Bubbles asked when she had the chance in a vain attempt at acknowledgement.

"Ugh, you're _still_ here?" Megan rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," Bubbles said slowly, "What's wrong? Why are you guys acting as though I…"

"Bubbles honey," Jennifer shook her head with a smile, "Don't you get it?"

"Get what?"

"Are you dense?" Sarah asked.

"Bubbles, you no longer _belong_ here. Go sit with your loser art club friends or whatever, if you still have any," Megan explained dismissing her with a wave of her hand.

"But…"

"Anyway, before I was interrupted…" Megan sighed haughtily.

Bubbles nodded slowly, "I see." she felt her eyes begin to water slightly. She quickly hurried off trying not to cry as she left the cafeteria but the tears came anyway. "Bubbles, are you OK?" Robyn asked as Bubbles bumped into her.

"I'm fine!" Bubbles sobbed, brushing past her. She ran around the corner and headed towards the bathroom, in obvious distress. Robyn followed but stopped when she saw Mike heading towards her. He stopped and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend.

"Bubbles? Baby what's wrong?" he asked.

She cried a moment into his shoulder; she couldn't believe her friends would shoot her down like that. She felt foolish. She should've known they would since they hardly spoke since she quit, and after hearing Buttercup's warnings and everything she noticed about them. She should have expected them to reject her sooner or later. Bubbles stopped crying for a moment as she thought of something that had been occasionally bothering her since Mike found out about antidote X. 

"Do you love me?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied.

"Really?" she cried, "Even though I lost my powers and quit cheerleading?"

Mike nodded, "Who do you think I am? Some shallow jock or something, seeking the limelight? I fell in love with Bubbles, not a superhero or cheerleader." Bubbles smiled, allowing her tears to fall freely. He put his arms around her and asked, "Bubbles, what hap…"

Bubbles interrupted him by planting her lips on his. "Shh," she whispered, kissing him again. "Let's not…" she kissed his ear, "talk about this…" she kissed his cheek, "right now." She didn't know what came over her. She figured that she was so hurt by her friends and lonely and just so relieved that he loved her in spite of all that had happened, so grateful that he was remaining true. She pressed her lips against his and pushed him into the bathroom. He wrapped his arm around her and locked the door behind them as Robyn watched them disappear, bewildered.

Robyn shook her head and went back to the cafeteria, she too felt hurt and rejected.

*****

Blossom and Greg walked hand in hand down the hallway on their way to the main entrance where she would be picked up by the Professor. "I don't see why I can't drive you home," Greg sighed.

"Yeah, but he's been super paranoid lately, and last night we had a talk because it worries him when we're not there after school," she rolled her eyes, "I can understand why he's been overprotective lately, but I wish he'd give me some space."

"Why don't you call him and tell him you're going out with me?" Greg asked.

"I did," Blossom replied. "He still prefers that the three of us go home together. It's for the best though I suppose. I'm really busy, so I think it's wise that I do this. You're a distraction. A sexy distraction, but a distraction." she added with a sly smile.

"Blossom, you're always busy," Greg sighed, "You need to relax."

"What do you mean? I'm relaxed!" Blossom exclaimed, "I feel so content right now, being here with you."

Greg smiled and kissed her forehead, "I know, I can tell, but you know we hardly do this anymore. You're always too busy!"

"No I'm not," Blossom smiled, "I'm just as busy as I was before, but not as much because… well, because I'm not a Powerpuff girl anymore."

"Then why do you seem busier?" Greg asked.

Blossom shrugged, "Well, it is the end of the year, the Grad committee has to work in overdrive now and preparing for finals I guess is time consuming."

"Yeah but you're wearing yourself out," Greg said, "You look so tired Bloss when you shouldn't."

Blossom hesitated, "Yeah well… well I guess that's because… I really don't have as much energy and endurance as I did before." she sighed thoughtfully.

"You feeling OK?" Greg asked, "Are you still…"

"No, I'm fine. I've been feeling so much better since the drug the Professor invented started to take effect. The headaches and dizziness are gone. The problem is I still have to get used to the fact that now that my powers are gone, I don't have the stamina I did before. I'm normal now. I didn't think that my powers had such an effect on my everyday life," Blossom replied. She stopped for a moment and reflected on what she just said.

"You do too much," Greg commented, "You're in charge of, and do more activities than most people, even overachievers like you. It wouldn't hurt for you to cut back on activities."

"No," Blossom said quickly.

"Why?"

"I can't quit anything. I have to do them," Blossom shook her head, "I have to."

"Why?" Greg asked. "Didn't you say that you and what's her name, Janine have been having creative differences over Grad decorations or something? I don't think she'd mind if you quit and handed over leadership of the Grad committee to her since from the sound of things she's trying to take over anyway."

"So we could have tacky seventies colours and a stupid theme?" Blossom asked.

"Didn't you say that no one likes her ideas either, or yours for that matter and the creative differences are driving you crazy? Why don't you let Janine handle the stress of dealing with them? I doubt the committee would let her go through with her ideas." Greg suggested, "This way you could have lunch hour free to do as you will, which I know would help." 

"I can't," Blossom said, even though secretly they had already asked her to step down since she wasn't doing a good job anymore because she didn't have the energy she used to and it affected the quality of her work. 

"Why?" 

"Because I need to prove to myself that I can do everything and that I'm not a failure," she blurted. She was surprised at herself. She didn't realize she felt that way until the words escaped her mouth.

"Bloss," Greg put his arm around her, "You're not a failure. I'm worried about you. We've hardly seen each other the past few weeks because you've been drowning yourself in work and it's starting to take its toll. I think you're working so hard to avoid your problems."

"No I'm not," Blossom replied defensively.

"Are you sure about that?" Greg asked.

Blossom sighed, "Can we talk about this later?"

They turned the corner and saw Buttercup with Mitch, Deuce and Cobra, the third member of their gang. Buttercup pushed Mitch against the locker, "Don't you freaks get it? I don't care about whatever it is you want, I'm not going to talk to you about anything!"

Mitch shook his head, "Fine," he frowned, putting his hand on her waist, "This is the last time we bother you."

Buttercup slapped his hand away, "You'd better back off."

"Let's go boys," Deuce said shaking his head.

Buttercup glared at them, out of breath as they slinked away. Cobra turned his head and gave her a menacing look.

"You OK sis?" Blossom asked. Buttercup looked as though she was about to fall over.

Buttercup nodded, putting her hand to her forehead, looking like she had a headache. "Those retards have been practically stalking me lately, wanting me to tell them what happened or whatever."

"What did they say?" Blossom asked.

"I don't know, and I don't care," Buttercup replied, "They say it's important, but they go about it is as though they just want to harass me just to get information out of me that's none of their business or something like that. But I'm fine."

"You can't trust those guys," Blossom nodded, putting her arm around Buttercup. 

"You don't have to tell me that," Buttercup pulled away defensively. "After what they did…"

"I know," Blossom nodded. "I didn't know that they've been harassing you. You should tell someone the next time they try."

"I can handle myself," Buttercup hissed, walking a few paces ahead of them.

They joined up with Bubbles who looked upset but content at the same time and waited for the Professor. When they got home Buttercup went to her room and fell on her bed, exhausted, still feeling like crap. She wasn't taking to Antixium nearly as well as her sisters, it only helped slightly which bothered her even though the Professor assured her that it was because she had been so badly injured that it would take more time to take effect. He didn't seem too sure though. 

Her biggest worry however was about Kevin, she never thought she'd see the day where they have a fight and stop talking. She looked at her favourite picture she took of him and felt a tear escape. "Buttercup you had better not cry now," she scolded herself, since she hadn't cried since she was seven. 

She reached into her jacket pocket to see if she had a tissue or something. She was surprised when she felt a piece of paper that she knew shouldn't be there.

It was a note.

"Watch your back." it said, in Mitch's unmistakable printing. He must've planted it in her pocket. 

Buttercup studied the note for a moment wondering, was that a threat, or a warning?

____________________________

A/N The action is going to pick up again soon, I promise.

To all you silent reviewers, please review!  You don't have to say a lot, I just like to know if more than four people are still reading this.

Many Thanks!

**Hairy Gregory: **People are mean, what can I say?  If that guy existed anywhere else but my imagination, I'd get all Tae Kwon Do on his butt!  Not much to say but all your questions will be revealed (eventually).  Thanks for the review!

**Dooly:** Yep, Mitch strikes me as someone who would join a gang of hooligans like the GGG some day.  Buttercup definitely is not the type who would appreciate someone protecting her.  She's too proud.  Thanks for being a faithful reviewer.

**Bubblebean022**: Thanks for the compliments and the review!

**PinkPuff514**: Yeah, poor Bubbles.  Like I said to Gregory, all will be revealed eventually.  As for Buttercup's past, I've been revealing things randomly, but I won't reveal them completely, but I hope I provide enough information for the readers to piece together what happened.  As always, thanks for the faithful reviewing!


	19. Project X

A/N I wasn't going to do this, (have a chapter all from the bad guy's POV) but I figured we need a bit of a break of the teenage angst and get a bit of a glimpse into the conspiracy that's brewing… Enjoy!

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Chapter 19: Project X

Mojo Jojo was glad to be back to his old self. His injuries had healed remarkably quick; it only took a week for him to get on his feet again and now he felt stronger than ever. Of course he had his own genius to thank for that. He and his team mates at Project X had after years of experimentation had managed to create a drug that cut healing time in half. Mojo had an added advantage. Because of his genetic make-up and the fact he already had some Chemical X in his system, the drug worked even faster and temporarily gave him almost super strength. He stole samples of the drug to take later, after his dismissal from Project X, which he was sure was coming. He didn't care if his boss fired him, not any more. He had what he wanted, and Project X no longer met his needs, although he was grateful for them and intended to keep them and their cause clandestine. He would get his revenge without their help. 

"Mojo!"

Mojo Jojo turned around to see Ace and Snake leaning against the doorframe to his office. "What do you want?"

"Letter, from the boss," Ace replied handing him a small white envelope. 

Mojo took the letter, "I wonder if Carl had his wish and I am fired…"

"Open it and see," Snake shrugged.

Mojo took his letter opener and ripped the envelope, his eye however focused on Ace and Snake. "If I am, you _will_ stand by me. Right?"

"Of course," Ace nodded, "We hate those girls as much as you do. We're in, if you'll allow it; our offer to join you still stands. You can trust us."

Mojo Jojo snorted, "Hmm, I don't know if I could trust a bunch of lowlife thugs like you and your gang Ace."

"I resent that statement, have we failed you before?" Ace frowned, Mojo gave him a look, "Who provided you with the means to get back on your feet at the time of your exile? Who was responsible for delaying the police when you blew up the Movie theatre?"

"That was you? I thought it was Carl!"

"You bet it was me. The police are a lot stronger now then before you left. Someone had to do something to protect you from reaping the consequences of your little rampage! Carl hates you, why would he do it except to save his own skin? He only got you out of there because _I _told him what could happen to the Project if he didn't," Ace explained, "Come on, what does the boss say?"

Mojo nodded, he had no more doubts of Ace's loyalty. He took the letter and read it to himself.

"Well?" Ace asked.

"It seems I'm not fired after all," Mojo smiled, as much as he had tried to convince himself that he didn't care about Project X anymore, he was actually relieved that they didn't fire him. They no longer met his needs as a whole, since they were no longer on the same wavelength, but he could still use their facilities. Besides, as long as he was with them, he was protected by them. He just had to be careful. He had to wait for the right moment to strike again for there was no room for failure the next time.

"That's surprising," Snake exclaimed.

Mojo snorted, "Nah, not really if you think about it. The boss likes me, considers me his partner. He says that my history with the Powerpuff Girls, my genius and my own link to chemical X makes me a valuable asset to the Project. Although I'm demoted, and on probation," Mojo chuckled, "Expect a letter from the boss real soon Ace. He wants you to keep a close eye on me, make sure I don't try anything else. Ironic, no?"

Ace laughed and shook his head, "I'll say! But seriously, what does he expect from me? Me and my crew can't watch you and keep an eye on the Powerpuff Girls 24/7, especially with all the heightened security everywhere! I have my own business to run!"

Mojo grinned, "If you can call that a business…"

"It helped you didn't it?" Ace retorted.

"I'm not saying it isn't a good thing to have connections," Mojo replied, "It has proved valuable, I must admit. I appreciate all that you've done for me. Hmm, maybe the boss needs more lackeys…"

"Take that back, we're more than just a bunch of _your_ minions! The Gangreen gang may work for you and Project X, but we're still an independent gang, we answer to no one. We're freelancers, unlike you or your colleagues, we can quit anytime without worry. How dare you call us lackeys!" Ace frowned, Snake nodded in agreement.

"Oh relax Ace," Mojo sighed, "It appears I've hit a nerve and I apologize. You and your gang are still vital and important members of the team."

"Damn straight," Snake hissed. 

Ace snorted in disagreement, "How important is it, keeping an eye on three teenage girls? I don't see how vital that is to Project X right now."

"The boss needs to keep tabs on them now that I gave them their much deserved dose of antidote X," Mojo replied.

"So it really was you who did that then?" Snake snickered, "I wonder if the boss would be so lenient with you if we confirmed everyone's suspicions as to who the culprit was."

"You wouldn't dare," Mojo gasped.

"Of course not." Ace rolled his eyes, glaring at Snake, "The Gangreen Gang applaud you for your actions, you know that! We don't care if years of research go down the drain. All we care about is our 'paycheque' and seeing those girls fall. Like you, we're losing patience and want to see results now. On the other hand though, if you just waited until the boss gets here, I wouldn't have such a mundane job," Ace complained, "I hate being your gopher."

"Hey, that's what you were hired for. Anyhow, I can guarantee the boss would've had you keep tabs on the Powerpuffs sooner or later anyway." Mojo Jojo replied, "Ever hear of the phrase 'know your enemy?' Besides, Project X aside, _I _need you to watch them. I need to wait until a moment where they are weak and distracted, but in order for me to do that, I need you to keep tabs on them. If you're really do want to join me in this little side project of mine, you'll do this. Trust me, your reward will be great."

"All right, fine," Ace nodded, looking a little more satisfied, but still rather disgruntled. 

Mojo laughed, "Admit it Ace, it's not that bad, you yourself have said that you think they're hot. I too have to admit they're quite pleasing to the eye now that they've grown. Mundane or not, I thought the likes of you would enjoy stalking girls like them."

"He's got a point there," Snake snickered, nudging Ace who grinned.

"True enough," Ace nodded, "So Mojo, what's your plan of action anyway?"

"Nice try Ace," Mojo shook his head, "Like you said, you're freelancers so I'm not telling you any details. Your job is to follow orders without question. It's company policy."

"I'm not talking about the damn Project," Ace snapped.

"My policy too," Mojo Jojo said, "If you really want to see those girls suffer, you'll do as I say."

"Why don't we just destroy the girls ourselves instead of work for you? You can find your own sheep," Snake hissed. Ace glared at him.

"Be my guest," Mojo Jojo shrugged, "The likes of you come at a dime a dozen. But I can guarantee without my genius, you'd fail on your own."

"Well, without our connections, you'd fail too," Ace replied.

"You're not the only gang in Townsville with connections," Mojo Jojo replied.

"Fine," Ace sighed, "What do you want us to do?"

"Well, for now," Mojo Jojo said, "Get a sample of whatever the Professor's giving the girls. We need it for the Project, so they can find out how far along the Professor is with his own research. We don't want them to suspect us of having our own plans, do we?"

"I can do that," Ace nodded, "But it will be hard with all the heightened security in the area."

"That's not my problem, you can figure it out," Mojo Jojo replied, "What I want you to do for _me_, is lace what they do have with this," he produced a small vial from the inside pocket in his jacket, "It will make my… _our_ job so much easier when we finish what I started."

Wicked grins crossed Ace and Snake's lips, "What is it?" Snake asked.

"Just a little something I whipped up at the lab," Mojo Jojo shrugged.

"Clever," Ace nodded with a laugh, "Well, come on Snake, we got things to do."

As Ace and Snake headed out the door, the saw Carl heading down the hallway, "Hey Carl."

Carl nodded to them, "Boys." He blew a cloud of smoke into their faces as tapped excess ash from his cigarette onto the floor. "Is Mojo Jojo in? I need to talk to him."

"Yeah," Snake said.

"Hey Carl, can I bum a cigarette off ya?" Ace asked.

Carl rolled his eyes and gave him one, mumbling something under his breath. Carl entered Mojo's office without bothering to knock. "Mojo Jojo!"

"Hey Carl," Mojo grinned, "I'm happy to announce that I'm not fired. I guess you didn't get your way after all."

Carl frowned, "Not completely, but I still have more power than you do as the financier of this Project. I talked to your boss a few minutes ago and threatened to stop funding Project X if he doesn't get rid of you."

Mojo Jojo laughed, "Like the boss would really listen to you! You need us as much as we need you. You're stuck with me."

"You don't have to tell me that," Carl said dryly, "But he and I were willing to come up with a little compromise, since I can't stand working with you and all, he agreed to transfer you."

"Again? I've been waiting three years to come back to Townsville!" Mojo Jojo exclaimed, "I've been here only two months! He can't send me away now!"

"He did," Carl grinned, "It was agreed that this is better for you and the Project if you to stay away from the Powerpuff Girls since you're so personally linked to them. It certainly will prevent you from attacking them again. We need them alive for now. You know that, so I don't understand why you had to try and kill them without Project X's consent!"

Mojo Jojo didn't reply, instead he was doing his best to restrain himself from killing Carl right then and there.

"You have two weeks to get your things pack and get out of Townsville," Carl grinned. "In the meantime, you're going to be watched closely, to make sure you don't try anything again."

"Yeah, I know," Mojo Jojo sighed, waving his letter, and trying to hide the fact that he was relieved his guards were the Gangreen Gang, "Ace and his gang are assigned to do that." 

Carl nodded, "When you're not here. I've arranged to have security cameras installed in your office tonight. When you're not in your office, expect to always have an escort."

"This stinks," Mojo Jojo shook his head, "I'll bet you're happy. You've been dying to get rid of me one way or another ever since I got here."

"Deal with it," Carl shrugged, "Have a nice day."

Mojo Jojo watched him as he left with a sense of loathing. Two weeks. There wasn't much time for him to get his revenge on the girls, nor was there room for error. He thought it over and shrugged; he could do it. 

________________________

A/N Thanks everyone for the reviews!

**Hairy Gregory: **I probably was able to capture the stereotypical queen bitches personality because they're based on people I went to school with, OK, they're not _based_ on per say, but they are _exactly_ like some of the people I went to school with. Thanks as always! (And thanks for updating this on your site!)

**Sweetdeath04: **Hey, thanks for the review. So glad you like the fic!

**Bella:** Welcome back to the fic! Yeah, Buttercup realizes what Kevin is saying, but she's too stubborn and proud (mixed with a bit of denial). Thanks for the reviews!

**Dooly: **Precisely. That was why they didn't want to go public with their loss of powers at first, because of the enemies they made in the past. Of course they had no choice but to let the people know. 

**Karashi****:** Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like it! 

**PinkPuff514: **Thanks for the review! Not much else to say. I always love reading your reviews. Oh! And update "Crimson Confusion" soon please! OK?

**Vsiv1695**: Where have you been?! It's good to see you back. Your review kind of confused me (it may be because I'm tired…) but I take that as a huge compliment if it makes you want to write again. And you should. I loved "We Will Fly No More"!


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